For release 10:00 AM EST, January 7, 1998 CB98-02 NOVEMBER 1997 NEW HOUSING SALES AT ANNUAL RATE OF 830,000 Sales of new one-family houses in November 1997 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 830,000, according to estimates released today by the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of the Census and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 5 (+/-11) percent above the revised October rate of 790,000 and 5 (+/-12) percent above the November 1996 rate of 788,000. The median sales price of new houses sold in November 1997 was $140,000; the mean sales price was $175,100. At the end of November the seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale was 285,000. This represents a supply of 4.2 months at the current sales rate. Through November 1997 there were 749,000 houses sold compared with 706,000 houses sold during the same period last year. This is an increase of 6 (+/-3) percent. New Home Sales data for December 1997 will be released on February 3, 1998, at 10:00 AM EST. EXPLANATORY NOTES These statistics are estimated from sample surveys. They are subject to sampling variability as well as nonsampling error including bias and variance from response, nonreporting, and undercoverage. Estimated average relative standard errors of the preliminary data are shown in the tables. Whenever a statement such as "2 (+/-3) percent above" appears in the text, this indicates the range (from -1 percent to +5 percent) in which the actual percent change is likely to have occured. All ranges given for percent changes are 90-percent confidence intervals and account only for sampling variability. If a range contains zero, it is uncertain whether there was an increase or decrease; that is, the change is not statistically significant. The January 1997 issue of CURRENT CONSTRUCTION REPORTS, C25/97-1, includes explanations of confidence intervals and sampling variability. Changes in seasonally adjusted statistics often show irregular movement. It takes 4 months to establish a trend for new houses sold. On average, the preliminary seasonally adjusted estimate of total sales is revised +/-5 percent. Changes in sales price data reflect changes in the distribution of houses by region, size, etc., as well as changes in the prices of houses with identical characteristics. NEW ONE-FAMILY HOUSES SOLD: NOVEMBER 1997 United North- Mid- Period States east west South West Seasonally adjusted annual rate 1996 - November 788 78 127 368 216 December 794 76 152 356 210 1997 - January 822 111 139 376 196 February 826 114 125 382 205 March 825 96 128 365 236 April 765 87 132 336 209 May 764 86 138 341 200 June 802 70 157 359 216 July 812 66 152 355 240 August(r) 798 75 134 372 216 September(r) 814 65 135 378 236 October(r) 790 64 141 364 221 NOVEMBER(p) 830 79 162 382 207 AVG. RSE(%) 5 14 12 7 7 Not seasonally adjusted 1995 667 55 125 300 187 1996 757 74 137 337 209 AVG. RSE(%) 2 6 7 3 4 1996 First 11 months 706 65 127 317 198 1997 First 11 months 749 74 131 340 203 AVG. RSE(%) 2 7 6 4 2 1996 - November 54 6 9 25 14 1997 - August(r) 72 7 12 34 19 September(r) 66 6 10 31 20 October(r) 61 5 11 28 17 NOVEMBER(p) 57 5 12 26 14 AVG. RSE(%) 5 14 12 7 7 Number of houses in thousands. (p) Preliminary. (r) Revised. AVG. RSE(%): Annual - Avg. Relative Standard Error for the last two years. YTD - Avg. Relative Standard Error for the current period and the same period last year. Monthly - Avg. Relative Standard Error for the latest six month period(January-June or July-December). NEW ONE-FAMILY HOUSES FOR SALE AT END OF PERIOD AND MONTHS SUPPLY AT CURRENT SALES RATE: NOVEMBER 1997 Seasonally adjusted Not Seasonally adjusted Houses Months Houses for sale Months for supply supply Period sale (1) (1) United States United North- Mid- South West States east west 1995 (X) (X) 374 62 69 158 86 (X) 1996 (X) (X) 326 38 67 146 74 (X) AVG. RSE(%) (X) (X) 3 10 6 4 6 (X) 1996 - November 327 5.1 330 41 69 147 73 6.1 December 322 5.0 326 38 67 146 74 6.4 1997 - January 308 4.6 309 34 65 137 73 5.1 February 300 4.3 296 30 63 132 71 4.3 March 287 4.3 284 28 63 126 67 3.5 April 291 4.6 289 28 65 129 67 4.1 May 288 4.6 286 26 64 127 68 4.0 June 288 4.4 288 27 62 129 69 4.0 July 288 4.4 289 28 63 130 68 4.2 August(r) 286 4.4 284 28 62 127 68 4.0 September(r) 287 4.3 287 27 64 127 68 4.3 October(r) 288 4.4 291 27 66 128 70 4.8 NOVEMBER(p) 285 4.2 290 26 64 128 71 5.1 AVG. RSE(%) 3 6 3 11 7 4 6 6 Number of houses in thousands. (p) Preliminary. (r) Revised. (X) Not applicable. (1) Ratio of houses for sale to houses sold. AVG. RSE(%): Annual - Avg. Relative Standard Error for the last two years. Monthly - Avg. Relative Standard Error for the latest six month period(January-June or July-December). MEDIAN AND AVERAGE SALES PRICE: NOVEMBER 1997 Period Median Average 1995 133,900 158,700 1996 140,000 166,400 AVG. RSE(%) 2 2 1996 - November 143,500 172,000 1997 - August(r) 144,000 170,700 September(r) 145,000 177,100 October(r) 142,300 174,100 NOVEMBER(p) 140,000 175,100 AVG. RSE(%) 2 3 Dollars. Includes value of improved lot. (NA) Not available. (p) Preliminary. (r) Revised. AVG. RSE(%): Annual - Avg. Relative Standard Error for the last two years. Monthly - Avg. Relative Standard Error for the latest six month period(January-June or July-December). Source: Construction Reports, Series C25, New One-Family Houses Sold. C25 Reports are available from the U.S. Government Printing Office. Annual subscription: $3500. Questions regarding these data may be directed to Dale R. Jacobson Residential Construction Branch, Manufacturing and Construction Division, Bureau of the Census, telephone (301) 457-4666. The following data will appear in the tables of the November 1997 Current Construction Report, Series C25, "New One-Family Houses Sold." TABLE 1. NEW HOUSES SOLD AND FOR SALE AND MONTHS SUPPLY AT CURRENT SALES RATE (IN THOUSANDS) NOT SEASONALLY ADJUSTED SOLD FOR SALE MONTHS SUPPLY AT CURRENT SALES RATE/1 ANNUAL DATA 1995................ 667 374 (X) 1996................ 757 326 (X) MONTHLY DATA 1996: JANUARY..... 54 370 6.9 FEBRUARY.... 68 362 5.3 MARCH....... 70 362 5.2 APRIL....... 70 366 5.2 MAY......... 69 360 5.2 JUNE........ 65 355 5.5 JULY........ 66 351 5.3 AUGUST...... 73 342 4.7 SEPTEMBER... 62 332 5.3 OCTOBER..... 56 332 6.0 NOVEMBER.... 54 330 6.1 DECEMBER.... 51 326 6.4 1997: JANUARY..... 61 309 5.1 FEBRUARY.... 69 296 4.3 MARCH....... 81 284 3.5 APRIL....... 70 289 4.1 MAY......... 71 286 4.0 JUNE........ 71 288 4.0 JULY........ 69 289 4.2 AUGUST\r.... 72 284 4.0 SEPTEMBER\r. 66 287 4.3 OCTOBER\r... 61 291 4.8 NOVEMBER\p.. 57 290 5.1 AVERAGE RELATIVE STANDARD ERRORS ANNUAL (PERCENT).... 2 3 (X) MONTHLY (PERCENT.... 5 3 6 See footnotes at end of table. TABLE 1. NEW HOUSES SOLD AND FOR SALE AND MONTHS SUPPLY AT CURRENT SALES RATE - CONTINUED (IN THOUSANDS) SEASONALLY ADJUSTED SOLD/2 FOR SALE MONTHS SUPPLY AT CURRENT SALES RATE/1 MONTHLY DATA 1996: JANUARY..... 727 370 6.3 FEBRUARY.... 778 354 5.1 MARCH....... 711 367 6.2 APRIL....... 741 368 6.0 MAY......... 732 362 5.9 JUNE........ 732 355 5.9 JULY........ 782 352 5.6 AUGUST...... 814 343 5.2 SEPTEMBER... 768 331 5.3 OCTOBER..... 706 330 5.7 NOVEMBER.... 788 327 5.1 DECEMBER.... 794 322 5.0 1997: JANUARY..... 822 308 4.6 FEBRUARY.... 826 300 4.3 MARCH....... 825 287 4.3 APRIL....... 765 291 4.6 MAY......... 764 288 4.6 JUNE........ 802 288 4.4 JULY........ 812 288 4.4 AUGUST\r.... 798 286 4.4 SEPTEMBER\r. 814 287 4.3 OCTOBER\r... 790 288 4.4 NOVEMBER\p.. 830 285 4.2 AVERAGE RELATIVE STANDARD ERRORS MONTHLY (PERCENT)... 5 3 6 p Preliminary. r Revised. X Not applicable. 1 Ratio of houses sold to houses for sale. 2 Annual rate. TABLE 2. HOUSES SOLD AND FOR SALE, BY REGION (THOUSANDS OF HOUSES. COMPONENTS MAY NOT ADD TO TOTAL BECAUSE OF ROUNDING) SOLD DURING PERIOD - NOT SEASONALLY ADJUSTED UNITED NORTH- MID- STATES EAST WEST SOUTH WEST 1995................ 667 55 125 300 187 1996................ 757 74 137 337 209 MONTHLY DATA 1996: JANUARY..... 54 3 10 24 17 FEBRUARY.... 68 5 11 31 21 MARCH....... 70 4 13 32 20 APRIL....... 70 6 13 30 21 MAY......... 69 5 14 32 19 JUNE........ 65 7 12 28 18 JULY........ 66 7 12 29 18 AUGUST...... 73 8 14 33 19 SEPTEMBER... 62 9 10 27 17 OCTOBER..... 56 6 9 26 15 NOVEMBER.... 54 6 9 25 14 DECEMBER.... 51 6 9 23 13 1997: JANUARY..... 61 7 9 29 15 FEBRUARY.... 69 9 10 33 18 MARCH....... 81 8 13 36 24 APRIL....... 70 8 14 30 19 MAY......... 71 8 13 31 18 JUNE........ 71 7 15 31 19 JULY........ 69 6 13 30 21 AUGUST\r.... 72 7 12 34 19 SEPTEMBER\r. 66 6 10 31 20 OCTOBER\r... 61 5 11 28 17 NOVEMBER\p.. 57 5 12 26 14 AVERAGE RELATIVE STANDARD ERRORS ANNUAL (PERCENT).... 2 6 7 3 4 MONTHLY (PERCENT)... 5 14 12 7 7 See footnotes at end of table. TABLE 2. HOUSES SOLD AND FOR SALE, BY REGION - CONTINUED (THOUSANDS OF HOUSES. COMPONENTS MAY NOT ADD TO TOTAL BECAUSE OF ROUNDING) SOLD DURING PERIOD - SEASONALLY ADJUSTED UNITED NORTH- MID- STATES EAST WEST SOUTH WEST MONTHLY DATA 1996: JANUARY..... 727 50 158 308 212 FEBRUARY.... 778 65 132 352 229 MARCH....... 711 51 131 322 206 APRIL....... 741 61 124 330 226 MAY......... 732 57 138 341 196 JUNE........ 732 75 133 323 202 JULY........ 782 82 139 345 217 AUGUST...... 814 84 160 365 205 SEPTEMBER... 768 93 129 341 205 OCTOBER..... 706 69 113 329 195 NOVEMBER.... 788 78 127 368 216 DECEMBER.... 794 76 152 356 210 1997: JANUARY..... 822 111 139 376 196 FEBRUARY.... 826 114 125 382 205 MARCH....... 825 96 128 365 236 APRIL....... 765 87 132 336 209 MAY......... 764 86 138 341 200 JUNE........ 802 70 157 359 216 JULY........ 812 66 152 355 240 AUGUST\r.... 798 75 134 372 216 SEPTEMBER\r. 814 65 135 378 236 OCTOBER\R... 790 64 141 364 221 november\P.. 830 79 162 382 207 AVERAGE RELATIVE STANDARD ERRORS MONTHLY (PERCENT)... 5 14 12 7 7 See footnotes at end of table. TABLE 2. HOUSES SOLD AND FOR SALE, BY REGION - CONTINUED (THOUSANDS OF HOUSES. COMPONENTS MAY NOT ADD TO TOTAL BECAUSE OF ROUNDING) FOR SALE AT END OF PERIOD - NOT SEASONALLY ADJUSTED UNITED NORTH- MID- STATES EAST WEST SOUTH WEST 1995................ 374 62 69 158 86 1996................ 326 38 67 146 74 MONTHLY DATA 1996: JANUARY..... 370 61 66 158 85 FEBRUARY.... 362 58 66 157 81 MARCH....... 362 59 66 159 79 APRIL....... 366 59 67 163 77 MAY......... 360 61 67 158 74 JUNE........ 355 59 66 156 74 JULY........ 351 56 65 155 75 AUGUST...... 342 51 64 153 74 SEPTEMBER... 332 45 65 148 73 OCTOBER..... 332 42 68 147 76 NOVEMBER.... 330 41 69 147 73 DECEMBER.... 326 38 67 146 74 1997: JANUARY..... 309 34 65 137 73 FEBRUARY.... 296 30 63 132 71 MARCH....... 284 28 63 126 67 APRIL....... 289 28 65 129 67 MAY......... 286 26 64 127 68 JUNE........ 288 27 62 129 69 JULY........ 289 28 63 130 68 AUGUST\r.... 284 28 62 127 68 SEPTEMBER\r. 287 27 64 127 68 OCTOBER\r... 291 27 66 128 70 NOVEMBER\p.. 290 26 64 128 71 AVERAGE RELATIVE STANDARD ERRORS ANNUAL (PERCENT).... 3 10 6 4 6 MONTHLY (PERCENT)... 3 11 7 4 6 p Preliminary. r Revised. X Not applicable. TABLE 3. HOUSES SOLD AND FOR SALE, BY STAGE OF CONSTRUCTION (THOUSANDS OF HOUSES. COMPONENTS MAY NOT ADD TO TOTAL BECAUSE OF ROUNDING) SOLD DURING PERIOD UNDER CONSTRUC- TOTAL COMPLETED TION NOT STARTED 1995................. 667 238 223 205 1996................. 757 275 254 228 MONTHLY DATA 1996: JANUARY...... 54 19 17 18 FEBRUARY..... 68 21 21 26 MARCH........ 70 22 23 24 APRIL........ 70 22 27 22 MAY.......... 69 25 24 20 JUNE......... 65 24 21 20 JULY......... 66 27 21 18 AUGUST....... 73 26 27 20 SEPTEMBER.... 62 23 22 17 OCTOBER...... 56 21 19 15 NOVEMBER..... 54 20 17 17 DECEMBER..... 51 20 15 17 1997: JANUARY...... 61 22 20 19 FEBRUARY..... 69 23 23 23 MARCH........ 81 25 29 27 APRIL........ 70 21 24 26 MAY.......... 71 23 24 24 JUNE......... 71 19 30 22 JULY......... 69 20 26 22 AUGUST\r..... 72 19 28 25 SEPTEMBER\r.. 66 18 27 22 OCTOBER\r.... 61 17 25 19 NOVEMBER\p... 57 19 22 16 AVERAGE RELATIVE STANDARD ERRORS ANNUAL (PERCENT)..... 2 4 3 5 MONTHLY (PERCENT..... 5 8 6 11 See footnotes at end of table. TABLE 3. HOUSES SOLD AND FOR SALE, BY STAGE OF CONSTRUCTION - CONTINUED (THOUSANDS OF HOUSES. COMPONENTS MAY NOT ADD TO TOTAL BECAUSE OF ROUNDING) FOR SALE AT END OF PERIOD UNDER CONSTRUC- TOTAL COMPLETED TION NOT STARTED 1995................. 374 123 199 52 1996................. 326 101 185 40 MONTHLY DATA 1996: JANUARY...... 370 122 196 51 FEBRUARY..... 362 120 192 50 MARCH........ 362 120 189 53 APRIL........ 366 119 195 51 MAY.......... 360 114 195 52 JUNE......... 355 113 193 48 JULY......... 351 111 191 49 AUGUST....... 342 106 192 44 SEPTEMBER.... 332 103 185 43 OCTOBER...... 332 103 186 43 NOVEMBER..... 330 101 189 40 DECEMBER..... 326 101 185 40 1997: JANUARY...... 309 97 174 38 FEBRUARY..... 296 95 165 37 MARCH........ 284 91 158 35 APRIL........ 289 91 165 33 MAY.......... 286 90 163 33 JUNE......... 288 89 163 36 JULY......... 289 88 165 36 AUGUST\r..... 284 87 163 34 SEPTEMBER\r.. 287 90 165 31 OCTOBER\r.... 291 92 165 34 NOVEMBER\p... 290 93 162 34 AVERAGE RELATIVE STANDARD ERRORS ANNUAL (PERCENT)..... 3 4 3 6 MONTHLY (PERCENT..... 3 4 4 4 p Preliminary. r Revised. TABLE 4. HOUSES SOLD BY SALES PRICE (THOUSANDS OF HOUSES. COMPONENTS MAY NOT ADD TO TOTAL BECAUSE OF ROUNDING.) NUMBER OF HOUSES/1 PERIOD 80000 100000 120000 150000 200000 UNDER TO TO TO TO AND TOTAL 80000 99999 119999 149999 199999 OVER 1995................ 667 58 101 99 144 127 138 1996................ 757 59 104 101 159 160 175 MONTHLY DATA 1996: JANUARY..... 54 4 10 8 11 10 11 FEBRUARY.... 68 6 10 9 14 14 15 MARCH....... 70 6 10 9 15 14 15 APRIL....... 70 5 11 8 14 16 15 MAY......... 69 6 9 10 15 15 15 JUNE........ 65 5 8 9 14 14 15 JULY........ 66 4 8 9 14 15 15 AUGUST...... 73 6 11 11 15 15 16 SEPTEMBER... 62 7 9 8 13 10 16 OCTOBER..... 56 4 7 7 12 12 13 NOVEMBER.... 54 4 7 7 12 11 14 DECEMBER.... 51 4 7 6 10 11 13 1997: JANUARY..... 61 3 8 8 13 13 15 FEBRUARY.... 69 5 9 9 15 14 18 MARCH....... 81 7 9 12 15 19 20 APRIL....... 70 5 7 9 14 16 19 MAY......... 71 4 9 9 15 15 17 JUNE........ 71 4 9 9 17 14 19 JULY........ 69 4 8 9 15 15 18 AUGUST\r.... 72 5 9 10 15 17 17 SEPTEMBER\r. 66 4 8 8 14 15 16 OCTOBER\r... 61 4 7 9 13 13 15 NOVEMBER\p.. 57 5 8 7 12 11 14 AVERAGE RELATIVE STANDARD ERRORS ANNUAL (PERCENT).... 2 7 5 6 5 5 5 MONTHLY (PERCENT.... 5 21 14 11 9 8 9 See footnotes at end of table. TABLE 4. HOUSES SOLD BY SALES PRICE - CONTINUED (COMPONENTS MAY NOT ADD TO TOTAL BECAUSE OF ROUNDING. PERCENTS COMPUTED FROM UNROUNDED FIGURES) PERCENT DISTRIBUTION/2 PERIOD 80000 100000 120000 150000 200000 UNDER TO TO TO TO AND 80000 99999 119999 149999 199999 OVER 1995................ 9 15 15 22 19 21 1996................ 8 14 13 21 21 23 MONTHLY DATA 1996: JANUARY..... 8 18 15 20 19 20 FEBRUARY.... 9 14 14 20 20 22 MARCH....... 8 14 13 22 20 22 APRIL....... 7 16 11 21 23 22 MAY......... 9 12 14 22 22 21 JUNE........ 8 13 14 22 22 22 JULY........ 7 12 14 22 23 23 AUGUST...... 8 14 15 21 20 21 SEPTEMBER... 11 15 12 20 17 26 OCTOBER..... 7 12 13 22 22 24 NOVEMBER.... 7 14 12 22 20 25 DECEMBER.... 7 13 13 20 22 26 1997: JANUARY..... 6 13 13 22 21 25 FEBRUARY.... 7 13 13 21 20 26 MARCH....... 8 11 14 18 23 25 APRIL....... 7 10 13 20 23 28 MAY......... 6 13 13 22 22 24 JUNE........ 5 12 12 24 20 27 JULY........ 6 12 13 21 22 26 AUGUST\r.... 6 13 14 21 24 23 SEPTEMBER\r. 6 13 13 21 23 25 OCTOBER\r... 6 12 15 22 22 24 NOVEMBER\p.. 8 14 13 22 20 24 AVERAGE RELATIVE STANDARD ERRORS ANNUAL (PERCENT).... 7 5 6 5 5 5 MONTHLY (PERCENT.... 20 13 10 7 6 7 See footnotes at end of table. TABLE 4. HOUSES SOLD BY SALES PRICE - CONTINUED (IN DOLLARS) MEDIAN AVERAGE PERIOD SALES SALES PRICE PRICE 1995................ 133,900 158,700 1996................ 140,000 166,400 MONTHLY DATA 1996: JANUARY..... 131,900 155,300 FEBRUARY.... 139,400 163,700 MARCH....... 137,000 162,100 APRIL....... 140,000 170,000 MAY......... 136,400 163,300 JUNE........ 140,000 166,500 JULY........ 144,200 168,400 AUGUST...... 137,000 159,700 SEPTEMBER... 139,000 167,400 OCTOBER..... 143,800 168,400 NOVEMBER.... 143,500 172,000 DECEMBER.... 144,900 171,800 1997: JANUARY..... 145,000 171,900 FEBRUARY.... 143,000 171,100 MARCH....... 148,000 172,700 APRIL....... 150,000 179,500 MAY......... 141,000 170,700 JUNE........ 145,000 179,400 JULY........ 145,900 175,500 AUGUST\r.... 144,000 170,700 SEPTEMBER\r. 145,000 177,100 OCTOBER\r... 142,300 174,100 NOVEMBER\p.. 140,000 175,100 AVERAGE RELATIVE STANDARD ERRORS ANNUAL (PERCENT).... 2 2 MONTHLY (PERCENT.... 2 3 p Preliminary. r Revised. 1 Houses for which sales price was not reported have been distributed proportionally to those for which sales price was reported. 2 Total equals 100 percent. Note: The sales price includes the price of the developed lot. TABLE 5. CURRENT SEASONAL FACTORS NEW HOUSES SOLD MONTH AND YEAR UNITED STATES IMPLICIT FACTOR NORTHEAST MIDWEST SOUTH WEST 1997: AUGUST\r....... 108.1 111.5 103.8 109.4 107.5 SEPTEMBER\r.... 97.6 111.6 88.9 97.4 99.1 OCTOBER\p...... 92.9 100.1 91.6 93.2 91.1 NOVEMBER\p..... 82.7 82.5 87.6 82.8 78.9 See footnotes at end of table. TABLE 5. CURRENT SEASONAL FACTORS - CONTINUED MEDIAN MONTHS FROM START TO.. MONTH AND YEAR MONTHS NEW SUPPLY AT HOUSES CURRENT END OF FOR SALE SALES RATE SALE MONTH 1997: AUGUST\r....... 99.5 90.1 90.7 92.5 SEPTEMBER\r.... 100.0 100.2 90.7 93.4 OCTOBER\r...... 101.1 108.7 93.5 94.3 NOVEMBER\p..... 101.4 119.3 103.9 96.6 p Preliminary. r Revised. TABLE 6. MEDIAN NUMBER OF MONTHS ON SALES MARKET (HOUSES NOT STARTED ARE EXCLUDED. MEDIANS ARE COMPUTED FROM UNROUNDED FIGURES) HOUSES SOLD HOUSES FOR SALE MEASURED MEASURED FROM MEASURED FROM FROM MONTH OF START MONTH OF START MONTH OF COMPLETION NOT NOT NOT SEASONALLY SEASONALLY SEASONALLY SEASONALLY SEASONALLY ADJUSTED ADJUSTED ADJUSTED ADJUSTED ADJUSTED ANNUAL DATA 1995............... 4.3 (X) 5.3 (X) 5.5 1996............... 4.2 (X) 4.8 (X) 4.6 MONTHLY DATA 1996: JANUARY...... 4.7 4.1 5.5 5.2 5.7 FEBRUARY.... 4.5 3.9 5.7 5.1 5.7 MARCH....... 4.4 4.2 5.8 5.3 5.5 APRIL....... 4.2 4.2 5.6 5.3 5.7 MAY......... 4.4 4.5 5.4 5.3 5.8 JUNE........ 4.3 4.7 4.9 5.1 5.4 JULY........ 4.2 4.4 4.5 4.9 4.9 AUGUST...... 3.4 3.6 4.4 4.8 5.0 SEPTEMBER... 4.1 4.6 4.5 4.7 4.8 OCTOBER..... 4.0 4.4 4.5 4.7 4.4 NOVEMBER.... 4.3 4.0 4.5 4.7 4.6 DECEMBER.... 4.4 4.1 4.8 4.8 4.6 1997: JANUARY..... 4.8 4.2 5.1 4.9 4.9 FEBRUARY.... 4.5 4.1 5.3 4.9 4.8 MARCH....... 3.9 3.8 5.4 4.9 4.8 APRIL....... 4.1 4.2 5.2 4.8 4.6 MAY......... 3.8 3.8 4.7 4.6 4.7 JUNE........ 2.7 2.9 4.4 4.6 4.6 JULY........ 3.4 3.7 4.3 4.6 4.6 AUGUST\r.... 3.1 3.4 4.4 4.8 4.2 SEPTEMBER\r. 3.2 3.5 4.4 4.7 4.2 OCTOBER\r... 3.5 3.7 4.4 4.7 4.1 NOVEMBER\p.. 4.0 3.9 4.6 4.8 4.0 AVERAGE RELATIVE STANDARD ERRORS ANNUAL (PERCENT).... 3 (X) 5 (X) 7 MONTHLY (PERCENT.... 10 10 6 6 9 p Preliminary. r Revised. X Not applicable. Source: Current Construction Reports, Series C25, New One-Family Houses Sold. C25 Reports are available from the U.S. Government Printing Office. Annual subscription: $35.00. Questions or comments regarding these data may be directed to Dale R. Jacobson, Residential Construction Branch, Manufacturing and Construction Division, Bureau of the Census. Telephone: (301) 457-4666.