April posted another big gain in new home sales as buyers raced to sign contracts for new homes before the two government home-buyer tax credits expired on April 30th.
The Commerce Department reported today that sales of new single-family homes in April jumped up 14.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 504,000 units which followed March's gains of 29.8 percent which was the biggest monthly increase in almost 50 years.
Both March and April had a higher volume of buyers trying to sign sales contracts before the tax credits expired. Furthermore, low mortgage rates combined with the tax incentives really fueled purchases during those two months.
Despite the large amount of new home sales, home values did not get a boost. The median sales price fell to $198,400 which is 9.6 percent below the March median price for a new home.
March and April's big surge in new home sales were the highest levels of sales since May 2008. Sales around the nation were higher in April. In the Midwest sales were up 31.6 percent with the West showing an increase of 21.7 percent. Even the South posted a 10.8 percent increase.