For release 10:00 AM EST, March 30, 1998 CB98-49 FEBRUARY 1998 NEW HOUSING SALES AT ANNUAL RATE OF 893,000 Sales of new one-family houses in February 1998 were at a record seasonally adjusted annual rate of 893,000, according to estimates released today by the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of the Census and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 5 (+/-8) percent above the revised January rate of 852,000, and 9 (+/-9) percent above the February 1997 rate of 817,000. The median sales price of new houses sold in February 1998 was $153,400; the mean sales price was $179,300. At the end of February the seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale was 282,000. This represents a supply of 3.8 months at the current sales rate. Through February of this year, there were 141,000 houses sold compared with 130,000 houses sold during the same period last year. This is an increase of 8 (+/-6) percent. New Home Sales data for March 1998 will be released on April 29, 1998, at 10:00 AM EDT. 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 1998 issue of CURRENT CONSTRUCTION REPORTS, C25/98-1, includes explanations of confidence intervals and sampling variability. Changes in seasonally adjusted statistics often show irregular movement. It takes 4 months to establish an underlying 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: FEBRUARY 1998 United North- Mid- Period States east west South West Seasonally adjusted annual rate 1997 - February 817 106 124 381 207 March 823 94 128 364 237 April 762 87 132 335 208 May 764 89 135 341 199 June 810 69 157 363 221 July 808 68 149 355 236 August 799 72 133 372 222 September 809 61 133 379 236 October 805 64 141 364 235 November(r) 875 93 167 389 227 December(r) 810 75 160 368 207 1998 - January(r) 852 78 157 400 217 FEBRUARY(p) 893 93 197 351 251 AVG. RSE(%) 5 15 12 7 8 Not seasonally adjusted 1996 757 74 137 337 209 1997/r 804 78 140 364 222 AVG. RSE(%) 2 6 7 3 4 1997 First 2 months 130 15 19 62 34 1998 First 2 months 141 13 26 62 40 AVG. RSE(%) 3 10 9 5 4 1997 - February 69 9 10 33 18 November(r) 61 6 12 27 16 December(r) 51 5 9 24 13 1998 - January(r) 64 5 11 32 17 FEBRUARY(p) 77 8 16 30 23 AVG. RSE(%) 5 15 12 7 8 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: FEBRUARY 1998 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 1996 (X) (X) 326 38 67 146 74 (X) 1997/r (X) (X) 286 26 65 127 69 (X) AVG. RSE(%) (X) (X) 3 10 6 4 6 (X) 1997 - February 300 4.3 296 30 63 132 71 4.3 March 288 4.4 284 28 63 126 67 3.5 April 291 4.6 289 28 65 129 67 4.1 May 289 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 286 4.3 284 28 62 127 68 4.0 September 284 4.3 285 27 65 125 68 4.3 October 284 4.3 287 27 66 126 68 4.6 November(r) 280 3.9 281 26 64 124 67 4.6 December(r) 281 4.4 286 26 65 127 69 5.6 1998 - January(r) 282 4.1 283 27 62 127 67 4.4 FEBRUARY(p) 282 3.8 277 25 61 129 62 3.6 AVG. RSE(%) 3 6 3 10 7 4 4 6 Number of houses in thousands. (p) Preliminary. (r) Revised. (X) Not applicable. (1) Ratio of houses for sale to houses sold. Seasonally adjusted ratio derived from unadjusted ratio. 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: FEBRUARY 1998 Period Median Average 1996 140,000 166,400 1997/r 146,000 176,000 AVG. RSE(%) 2 2 1997 - February 143,000 171,100 November(r) 145,000 175,400 December(r) 145,000 174,800 1998 - January(r) 145,000 178,300 FEBRUARY(p) 153,400 179,300 AVG. RSE(%) 4 3 Dollars. Includes value of improved lot. (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: $35.00. 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 3 through 6 of the February 1998 Current Construction Report, Series C25, "New One-Family Houses Sold." The data found in tables 1 and 2 of the report are found in the above press release tables and are not shown again below. 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 1997\r............... 804 236 295 273 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....... 72 19 28 25 SEPTEMBER.... 67 18 26 22 OCTOBER...... 62 18 24 20 NOVEMBER\r... 61 18 24 19 DECEMBER\r... 51 14 18 20 1998: JANUARY\r.... 64 17 23 24 FEBRUARY\p... 77 21 29 26 AVERAGE RELATIVE STANDARD ERRORS ANNUAL (PERCENT)..... 2 4 3 5 MONTHLY (PERCENT..... 5 7 6 10 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 1997\r............... 286 92 160 34 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....... 284 87 163 34 SEPTEMBER.... 285 90 164 31 OCTOBER...... 287 91 163 33 NOVEMBER\r... 281 92 158 31 DECEMBER\r... 286 92 160 34 1998 JANUARY\r.... 283 87 161 35 FEBRUARY\p... 277 84 157 37 AVERAGE RELATIVE STANDARD ERRORS ANNUAL (PERCENT)..... 3 4 3 6 MONTHLY (PERCENT..... 3 4 3 5 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 1997\r.............. 804 51 94 103 173 177 207 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...... 72 5 9 10 15 17 17 SEPTEMBER... 67 4 8 8 14 15 17 OCTOBER..... 62 3 7 9 14 13 15 NOVEMBER\r.. 61 4 8 7 13 13 16 DECEMBER\r.. 51 4 5 6 12 11 13 1998: JANUARY\r... 64 3 9 9 13 14 16 FEBRUARY\p.. 77 5 6 12 14 18 22 AVERAGE RELATIVE STANDARD ERRORS ANNUAL (PERCENT).... 2 7 5 6 5 5 5 MONTHLY (PERCENT.... 5 23 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 1997\r.............. 6 12 13 21 22 26 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...... 6 13 14 21 24 23 SEPTEMBER... 6 12 12 21 23 25 OCTOBER..... 5 11 15 23 21 24 NOVEMBER\r.. 6 13 12 22 22 25 DECEMBER\r.. 8 10 12 24 22 25 1998: JANUARY\r... 4 13 15 21 21 25 FEBRUARY\p.. 6 8 15 18 24 29 AVERAGE RELATIVE STANDARD ERRORS ANNUAL (PERCENT).... 7 5 6 5 5 5 MONTHLY (PERCENT.... 22 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 1997\r.............. 146,000 176,000 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...... 144,000 170,700 SEPTEMBER... 146,300 177,500 OCTOBER..... 141,500 172,900 NOVEMBER\r.. 145,000 175,400 DECEMBER\r.. 145,000 174,800 1998 JANUARY\r... 145,000 178,300 FEBRUARY\p.. 153,400 179,300 AVERAGE RELATIVE STANDARD ERRORS ANNUAL (PERCENT).... 2 2 MONTHLY (PERCENT.... 4 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 MEDIAN MONTHS FROM NEW HOUSES SOLD START TO-- MONTH MONTHS AND UNITED NEW SUPPLY AT YEAR STATES HOUSES CURRENT IMPLICIT NORTH- MID- FOR SALES END OF FACTOR EAST WEST SOUTH WEST SALE RATE SALE MONTH 1997 NOV/r 83.4 78.0 87.2 83.4 83.0 100.6 117.9 103.0 96.6 DEC/r 75.3 86.8 66.1 78.4 72.8 101.8 128.5 107.6 100.6 1998 JAN/r 90.0 72.6 81.3 95.6 91.9 100.3 109.3 117.3 105.6 FEB/p 103.4 106.4 94.8 102.6 110.1 98.5 96.0 110.0 108.3 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/r ADJUSTED ADJUSTED/r ADJUSTED ANNUAL DATA 1995............... 4.3 (X) 5.3 (X) 5.5 1996............... 4.2 (X) 4.8 (X) 4.6 1997\r............. 3.7 (X) 4.9 (X) 4.3 MONTHLY DATA 1996: JANUARY...... 4.7 4.0 5.5 5.2 5.7 FEBRUARY.... 4.5 4.0 5.7 5.0 5.7 MARCH....... 4.4 4.3 5.8 5.3 5.5 APRIL....... 4.2 4.1 5.6 5.3 5.7 MAY......... 4.4 4.5 5.4 5.3 5.8 JUNE........ 4.3 4.8 4.9 5.2 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 4.8 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 4.2 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 4.8 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 3.0 4.4 4.7 4.6 JULY........ 3.4 3.7 4.3 4.7 4.6 AUGUST...... 3.1 3.4 4.4 4.8 4.2 SEPTEMBER... 3.2 3.5 4.4 4.7 4.2 OCTOBER..... 3.4 3.6 4.4 4.7 4.0 NOVEMBER\r.. 3.8 3.7 4.6 4.8 3.9 DECEMBER\r.. 3.9 3.6 4.9 4.9 4.3 1998: JANUARY\r... 4.3 3.6 5.1 4.8 4.9 FEBRUARY\p.. 4.3 3.9 5.2 4.8 5.3 AVERAGE RELATIVE STANDARD ERRORS ANNUAL (PERCENT).... 3 (X) 5 (X) 7 MONTHLY (PERCENT.... 12 12 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.