New single-family home sales rose 27% from year ago levels in August but cooled slightly from July as the summer-selling season came to an end.
The U.S. Census Bureau says single-family homes sold at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 373,000 in August, down 0.3% from the revised July rate of 374,000 units.
Still, the August sales figure is much improved from the 292,000 units sold a year earlier.
The median home sales price hit $256,900 last month, while the average sales price hit $295,300.
“Price readings in this report, which are not based on repeat transactions and are especially subject to volatility, are showing rare gains for August,” research firm Econoday wrote Wednesday. In fact, the median price is now at its highest reading since March of 2007.
“The average price shows slightly less shocking gains, up 9.1% in the month to $295,300 for a year-on-year rate of plus 13.9%,” Econoday added.
