New Home Sales Report for October 2008 - Record Low Sales

As reported by CNNMoney.com - "New home sales fall to near 18-year low":

Sales of newly constructed homes slumped in October to an annual rate not seen since 1991, according to government figures released Wednesday.

The U.S. Census Bureau reported that new home sales fell to an annualized rate of 433,000 in October. That's down 5.3% from the revised 457,000 annual rate recorded in September, and off more than 40% from a year ago.

What was expected:

October's sales pace was well below the consensus forecast of 450,000, according to economists surveyed by Briefing.com. And it was the lowest number since January 1991, when the sales rate was 401,000.

The number of new homes on the market decreased in October to an estimated 381,000 from 414,000 in September. At the current sales pace, it would take more than 11 months to sell through the inventory.

Median home sales price continues to decline:

The median sales price of new houses sold in October was $218,000, down from $218,400 the month before. It was the lowest level since June 2004, when the median home price was $215,700.

More bad news for all things centered around real estate jobs. More bad news knowing that the housing crisis remains in full swing.

Good news that this lack of new home building / construction will ultimately lead towards lower housing inventory levels. Until we see lower inventory levels, we will continue to have a housing crisis.

Nonetheless, these numbers have been steadily trending down and positively indicate that the repair process is taking place.