New-home inventories continue to fall

The number of newly built single-family homes on the market declined to 297,000 units in April, their lowest level since May 2001, according to a recent report by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce. The pace of new-home sales, at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 352,000 units, was nearly unchanged compared with the previous month.

“The fact that the new-homes inventory is now below the 300,000 mark shows that builders have made substantial progress in winnowing down their backlogs to a much more comfortable level,” said Joe Robson, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). April’s results mark two consecutive years of monthly declines in the number of unsold new homes.

Sales of newly built, single-family homes recorded a marginal 0.3 percent gain to 352,000 units in April compared with March, while the inventory of new homes for sale declined 4.2 percent to 297,000 units--a 10.1-month supply at the current sales pace.