New Home Sales Drop Two Points

The result is 2 percent below the revised October rate of 929,000, but 2 percent above the November 1999 rate of 895,000, according to The Title Report (www.thetitlereport.com). The drop from October shows an immediate loss of potential landscaping clients, however the comparison for the same month in 1999 reveals the lucrative trend in home sales that has resulted from a robust economy in months past and opened up more opportunities for landscape contractors last year.

According to The Dismal Scientist (www.dismal.com), conditions are getting better for homebuyers with dropping mortgage rates - now near 7.0 percent, a full 160 basis points lower than May 2000 and even 70 basis points lower than November 2000 - and a growing supply of new homes for sale. These factors, even combined with high home prices, the stock market’s decline and weakening overall economic conditions, strongly suggest that home sales will remain strong in the December 2000 and January 2001 reports, said The Dismal Scientist.

The median sales price of new houses sold in November 2000 was $169,900; the mean sales price was $205,800. At the end of November, the seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale was 317,000. This represents a supply of 4.2 months at the current sales rate.

Through November of 2000, there were 841,000 houses sold compared with 849,000 sold during the same period in 1999. This is a decrease of 1 percent.