The U.S. Commerce Department reported on Thursday that the sales of new
single-family homes went down 4.5 percent m-o-m to a seasonally adjusted annual
rate of 801,000 units in January 2022.
Economists had projected the sales pace of 806,000 last month.
The December 2021 sales’ pace was revised up to 839,000 units from the
initially reported 811,000 units. This was the
highest reading since March 2021 (873,000).
According to the report, new home sales in the South, the largest area, plunged
7.4 percent m-o-m in January. In addition, new home sales in the Northeast tumbled
10.7 percent m-o-m and those in the Midwest decreased 3.7 percent m-o-m. In the
meantime, new home sales in the West rose 1.2 percent m-o-m last month.
In y-o-y terms, new home sales plumped 19.3 percent in January.