>In sum, it is difficult to chalk up today's stratospheric home
>sales figure purely to one-off factors. Instead, it can be
>viewed as the counterpart to large home price increases on the
>coasts (see 'Pricey on the Seaside,' US Economics Analyst 05/15,
>April 15, 2005). In most of the country, there is still plenty
>of space for new homes; the Census Bureau's Midwest and South
>regions account for a disproportionate 88% of the growth in new
>home sales over the past year. In these regions, the persistence
>of very low mortgage rates and relatively high affordability
>encourages more homebuilding on the outskirts of cities, making
>itself felt mostly in terms of higher sales volume rather than in
>higher prices.