Sales of new homes slip in July

Sales of new single-family houses in July 2011 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 298,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

This is 0.7% below the revised June rate of 300,000, but is 6.8% above the July 2010 estimate of 279,000.

The median sales price of new houses sold in July 2011 was $222,000, down from $236,800 in June. The average sales price increased slightly to $273,300.

The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of July was 165,000. This represents a supply of 6.6 months at the current sales rate.