NEW HOUSES SOLD IN DECEMBER 1995 AND JANUARY 1996 Sales of new one-family houses in January 1996 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 693,000, according to estimates released today by the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of the Census. This is 4 (+/-12) percent above the previously unreported December 1995 rate of 665,000 and 11 (+/-15) percent above the revised January 1995 rate of 627,000. The December 1995 rate was virtually unchanged (+/-12 percent) from the revised November 1995 rate of 662,000. During 1995, 664,000 new houses were sold. The median sales price of new houses sold in January 1996 was $128,900; the mean sales price was $147,500. The median sales price of new houses sold in December 1995 was $136,000; the mean sales price was $163,200. The median sales price of new houses sold in 1995 was $133,000; the mean was $158,000. At the end of January, the seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale was 381,000. This represents a supply of 6.7 months at the current sales rate. The release date for New Home Sales data for February 1996 will be March 29, 1996 at 10:00 AM EST. EXPLANATORY NOTES These statistics are estimated from sample surveys. They are subject to sampling variability and errors of response and nonreporting. Estimated average relative standard errors of the data are shown in the tables. Whenever a statement such as "an increase of 3 (+/-4) percent" appears in the text, this indicates the range (from -1 percent to +7 percent) in which the actual percent change is likely to have occured. All ranges given for percent changes are 90-percent confidence intervals. If the range contains zero, it is unclear whether there was an increase or decrease; that is, the change is not statistically significant. For any comparison cited without a confidence interval, the change is statistically significant. The upcoming December 1995/January 1996 issue of CURRENT CONSTRUCTION REPORTS (C25) will include explanations of confidence intervals and sampling variability. Changes in seasonally adjusted statistics often show irregular movement. It takes 4 months to establish a trend. On the average, preliminary monthly sales estimates are revised +/- 5 percent. Changes in sales price data reflect changes in the distribution of houses by region, size, etc., as well as changes in the prices of houses with identical characteristics. NEW ONE-FAMILY HOUSES SOLD: JANUARY 1996 WITH REVISED SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA BACK TO JANUARY 1993 United North- Mid- Period States east west South West Seasonally adjusted annual rate 1993(r): January 596 53 113 280 150 February 604 68 104 275 157 March 602 53 110 263 176 April 701 102 121 293 185 May 626 68 111 251 196 June 653 66 120 296 171 July 655 59 124 288 183 August 645 56 116 294 179 September 726 60 126 330 209 October 704 57 145 306 196 November 769 53 129 326 262 December 812 51 206 329 227 1994(r): January 620 49 126 278 166 February 699 51 134 298 216 March 736 63 128 325 220 April 683 62 126 300 195 May 689 61 126 312 189 June 625 55 119 267 184 July 628 51 109 280 188 August 666 73 115 275 203 September 689 94 111 296 190 October 710 63 139 300 207 November 641 62 126 275 178 December 625 46 117 301 161 1995(r): January 627 67 111 279 170 February 577 65 106 276 129 March 614 56 121 269 167 April 608 55 124 255 174 May 667 52 124 287 204 June 724 75 136 297 216 July 782 54 141 381 207 August 707 51 138 313 205 September 684 44 130 304 206 October 673 50 123 305 195 November 662 40 128 302 193 December(1) 665 79 127 287 173 1996: JANUARY(p) 693 47 150 304 193 AVG. RSE(%) 5 22 11 9 9 Not seasonally adjusted 1994 670 61 123 295 191 1995(1) 664 55 125 298 186 AVG. RSE(%) 2 6 7 3 4 1995 - January 47 4 7 22 14 September(r) 54 4 10 24 17 October(r) 54 5 10 25 15 November(r) 45 3 9 20 13 December(1) 44 7 7 19 11 1996 - JANUARY(p) 52 3 9 24 16 AVG. RSE(%) 5 22 11 9 9 Number of houses in thousands. (p) Preliminary. (r) Revised. (1) Although released for the first time, the December 1995 data include late reports and corrections normally associated with the first revision to the estimate. NOTE: All seasonally adjusted data have been revised. AVG. RSE(%): Annual - Avg. Relative Standard Error for the last two years. YTD - Avg. Relative Standard Error for the current period and the same period last year. Monthly - Avg. Relative Standard Error for the latest six month period(January-June or July-December). NEW ONE-FAMILY HOUSES FOR SALE AT END OF PERIOD AND MONTHS SUPPLY AT CURRENT SALES RATE: JANUARY 1993 THROUGH JANUARY 1996 Seasonally adjusted Not Seasonally adjusted Houses Months Houses for sale Months for supply supply Period sale (1) (1) United States United North- Mid- South West States east west 1993 (X) (X) 295 53 48 121 73 (X) 1994 (X) (X) 340 55 63 140 82 (X) 1995(2) (X) (X) 381 62 70 162 86 (X) AVG. RSE(%) (X) (X) 3 10 6 4 6 (X) 1993 - January 266 5.4 265 49 40 104 73 6.0 February 267 5.3 263 48 39 105 71 5.3 March 270 5.4 268 48 41 106 73 4.5 April 272 4.7 270 46 42 108 74 4.1 May 275 5.3 273 47 43 111 72 4.7 June 275 5.2 276 48 44 111 74 4.7 July 278 5.3 278 48 44 112 75 5.1 August 286 5.5 286 49 47 114 76 5.0 September 287 4.9 290 51 48 115 77 5.1 October 290 5.0 291 51 49 116 75 5.2 November 293 4.8 293 52 48 118 75 5.6 December 293 4.5 295 53 48 121 73 5.8 1994 - January 295 5.9 294 52 46 122 73 6.4 February 296 5.0 292 50 46 123 72 5.0 March 298 4.9 296 50 48 123 74 4.0 April 298 5.2 296 50 49 122 74 4.5 May 302 5.3 301 51 51 123 76 4.6 June 314 6.2 316 52 55 129 79 5.7 July 318 6.3 318 54 55 129 80 6.0 August 322 5.9 323 54 57 134 79 5.5 September 328 5.9 332 53 61 139 80 6.1 October 330 5.7 331 52 62 137 80 5.9 November 334 6.4 335 53 62 139 81 7.5 December 337 6.6 340 55 63 140 82 8.5 1995 - January 342 6.7 340 55 62 143 81 7.3 February 346 7.1 341 54 62 143 82 7.2 March 346 6.8 343 55 62 146 80 5.7 April 349 6.8 344 56 61 148 80 5.9 May 347 6.3 346 58 61 149 79 5.5 June 347 5.9 349 57 62 151 78 5.4 July 344 5.6 343 58 63 145 77 5.3 August 349 6.0 350 59 64 149 78 5.5 September(r) 350 6.4 354 60 64 151 78 6.5 October(r) 360 6.6 361 62 66 153 79 6.7 November(r) 370 6.9 373 64 69 157 82 8.3 December(2) 378 6.9 381 62 70 162 86 8.7 1996 - JANUARY(p) 381 6.7 380 63 68 164 86 7.4 AVG. RSE(%) 4 6 4 15 8 5 5 6 Number of houses in thousands. (p) Preliminary. (r) Revised. (X) Not applicable. (1) Ratio of houses for sale to houses sold. Seasonally adjusted ratio derived from unadjusted ratio. (2) Although released for the first time, the December 1995 data include late reports and corrections normally associated with the first revision to the estimate. NOTE: Seasonally adjusted estimates have been revised. AVG. RSE(%): Annual - Avg. Relative Standard Error for the last two years. Monthly - Avg. Relative Standard Error for the latest six month period(January-June or July-December). MEDIAN AND AVERAGE SALES PRICE: JANUARY 1996 Period Median Average 1994 130,000 154,500 1995(1) 133,000 158,000 AVG. RSE(%) 2 2 1995 - January 127,900 147,400 September(r) 130,000 155,600 October(r) 135,200 156,200 November(r) 135,000 156,700 December(1) 136,000 163,200 1996 - JANUARY(p) 128,900 147,500 AVG. RSE(%) 4 4 Dollars. Includes value of improved lot. (p) Preliminary. (r) Revised. (1) Although released for the first time, the December 1995 data include late reports and corrections normally associated with the first revision to the estimate. AVG. RSE(%): Annual - Avg. Relative Standard Error for the last two years. Monthly - Avg. Relative Standard Error for the latest six month period(January-June or July-December). Source: Construction Reports, Series C25, New One-Family Houses Sold. C25 Reports are available from the U.S. Government Printing Office, telephone (202) 512-1800. Annual subscription: $16.00. Questions regarding these data may be directed to Dale R. Jacobson, Construction Starts Branch, telephone (301) 457-4666.