New home dropped 0.6% in June to 530,000, although the result was better than expected, according to an RBS Greenwich Capital report. This particularly true if you take into consideration that the figures in March, April, and May were all revised up by a combined 50,000 units.
RBSGC added that regionally, small gains in the Northeast and Midwest mostly offset small drops in the South and West.
Although the relatively steady sales pace from April to June is encouraging, perhaps the best piece of news was the sharp drop in the supply of new homes. The number of new homes for sale dropped significantly by 24,000 units in June, the biggest monthly unit drop in the series' history (dating back to 1963). The 426,000 new homes for sale last month were close to 22% below a year ago, which is the biggest year-over-year drop in 11 years.
Through May, the overall improvement in the supply situation had been due mostly to better management of the pipeline, as builders cut back sharply on the number of homes under construction. However, the number of completed homes for sale also tumbled notably in June, dropping by 12,000 (a record dip that goes back to 1977) to 170,000, roughly a two-year low.
The number of homes for sale under construction also dipped by 11,000 last month to 191,000, a six-year low. Considering that the months' supply figure was 10 months in June, more progress will have to be made in terms of supply, but June's data provided a ray of hope, RBSGC said.
