Big Yearly Jump In Single-Family Home Sales In February

Sales of new single-family houses came in at a seasonally adjusted rate of 765,000 for February – down from January but significantly higher than a year earlier.

The report from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development showed the February numbers were 4.4 percent below January. They also were 14.3 percent above the January 2019 estimate of 669,000.

“New home sales are yet another housing indication that show what a bring start we had to 2020,” realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale said.

“With both supply and demand reduced as a result of the COVID-19 disruption, we can expect that we’ll see fewer sales in the short run. The open question is how long this will this be the case,” she added.

The median sales price of new homes was $345,900, while the average sales price was $403,800.

There were an estimated 319,000 new houses on the market at the end of February. That is a supply of five months at the current sales rate.