New Home Sales in West Bounce Back, Carrying National Numbers Higher; Applications Decline; Rate Volatility Ahead

New Home Sales in West Bounce Back, Carrying National Numbers Higher; Applications Decline; Rate Volatility Ahead

New home sales bounced back in June from two prior reports of very weak sales . The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development said those sales were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 646,000 units, a 7.0 percent gain from the downwardly revised May rate of 604,000. June sales were also higher on a year-over-year basis, up 4.5 percent from the June 2018 estimate of 618,000 units. New sales had posted significant losses in both April and May, down 6.9 percent in the first instance and 7.8 percent in the second. That decline was made larger by the revision to the original May estimate of 626,000 units. We noted last month that Mays results were stronger on a national basis than the number made them appear as losses were concentrated in the West. This month the