New home sales surge in July

Sales of new single-family houses hit the highest mark since October of 2007.

New home sales for July 2016 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 654,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The figure is 12.4% ahead of the previous month, and 31.3% above the same month last year.

Other stats from the government report:

• The median sales price of new houses sold in July 2016 was $294,600;

• The average sales price was $355,800; and

• The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of July was 233,000. This represents a supply of 4.3 months at the current sales rate.