A study has revealed that buying of new homes went down further in America in the year 2011. The numbers of new homes bought in the country has gone down to such an extent that the figure can be compared with something way back to half a century.
As per statistics released by the US Commerce department, the sales of new homes went down by 2.2% during December and the adjusted annual pace is 307,000. For the economy to survive in a healthy way, the figure must be close to 700,000. This is a clear sign that the house building industry is still in deep trouble in the USA. In spite of several liberal Government regulations, the picture still seems to be gloomy.
Last year, around 302,000 homes were sold in the USA and this figure was less than 323,000 sold in the year 2010. Home sales record of last year is so poor that it can only be compared to that in the year 1963 when the sales of homes was really down.
As a result, it was seen that the median sales price of homes also going down in the month of December. This was a consequence of huge drop in the demand for sales of new homes. It was seen that the median sales prices went down to $210,300. In order to remain competitive in the weak markets, builders started a price war, offering reduced prices to attract customers.
But surprisingly, during the last quarter of 2011, sales of homes picked up as compared to the first three quarters. Builders are slightly optimistic about the year 2012 as they are finding many people who are saying that they may consider buying a new home in the current year. Home construction business is also seen to be picking up in the last quarter of 2011.
This is also good news for the housing sector as far as hiring is considered. Unemployment in this sector fell to a lowest level during the last three years. Work has come to a standstill in many projects as builders have stopped working in them due to lack of funds.
