New home sales at 16-year low
Government report shows sales of newly constructed homes fell 8.5% last month, while the median price drop was the biggest since 1970.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- New home sales fell in March to the lowest level in more than 16 years, according to a key government report on the battered housing market released Wednesday.
March sales came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 526,000, the Census Bureau report showed, down 8.5% from a revised 575,000 in February and down 36% from a year earlier. It was the lowest annual rate since October 1991.
Economists were expecting new home sales to decline to 580,000 from the originally reported 590,000, according to estimates compiled by Briefing.com.
The median price of a new home sold in March was $227,600, down 13.3% from a year earlier.
The last time the median home price fell this sharply was July 1970, when it dropped 14.6%.
Thursday's report "paints the picture that the downturn in the housing market continues," said Scott Anderson, senior economist at Wells Fargo.
Despite a large cut in median home price the report showed an increase in the months of inventory.
The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of March was 468,000, which was down slightly from February's 471,000.
However, at the current sales rate, it would take 11 months to sell the supply of homes on the market at the end of March.
The months-of-supply number has not been this high since September 1981.
Given the large number of homes on the market and the sluggish sales pace, Anderson estimates that home sales are not likely to pick up for several more months. 
-
Check out our interactive timeline to see Steve Jobs' early struggles and recent victories. More -
How Apple's imperious, brilliant CEO revived the company and transformed American business. More -
From forgettable phones to disastrous desktops, Apple is able to recover fast. Play -
Arson. Scrappers. Blackouts. It's all part of business for the last tenant in Detroit's Packard Plant. More -
Investors think Detroit's foreclosed houses are a deal. Would you buy this one for $6,900? More -
These rising stars, like Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, have great jobs to fill. Here's what they're looking for. More
