by Calculated Risk on 11/26/2008 10:00:00 AM

The Census Bureau reports, New Home Sales in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 433 thousand. This is the lowest sales rate since 1982.

Click on graph for larger image in new window.

The first graph shows monthly new home sales (NSA - Not Seasonally Adjusted).

Notice the Red columns for 2008. This is the lowest sales for October since 1981. (NSA, 34 thousand new homes were sold in October 2008, 29 thousand were sold in October 1981).

As the graph indicates, sales in 2008 are substantially worse than the previous years.

The second graph shows New Home Sales vs. recessions for the last 45 years. New Home sales have fallen off a cliff.

Sales of new one-family houses in October 2008 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 433,000, according to
estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

This is 5.3 percent below the revised September of 457,000 and is 40.1 percent below the October 2007 estimate of 723,000.

And one more long term graph - this one for New Home Months of Supply.

"Months of supply" is at 11.1 months.

Sales are falling quickly, but inventory is declining too, so the months of supply is slightly lower than the peak of 11.4 months in August 2008.

The all time high for Months of Supply was 11.6 months in April 1980.

And on inventory:

The
seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of October was 381,000. This represents a supply of 11.1 months at the current sales rate.

Inventory numbers from the Census Bureau do not include cancellations and cancellations are falling, but are still near record levels. Note that new home inventory does not include many condos (especially high rise condos), and areas with significant condo construction will have much higher inventory levels.

This is a another very weak report. I'll have more later today ...