New Home Sales Rebounded In March

New home sales rebounded in March as an unexpected February downturn corrected. That’s according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which reported sales rising by 8.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 693,000, an increase from the month priors’ revised rate of 637,000. Sales were up 8.3% from the same time last year. The increase reverses a surprise downturn the month prior that took analysts by surprise, the first bad news in three months. Existing inventory saw a bump and, being generally cheaper and more attractive to buyers, took a greater share. But as rates keep rising, more and more homeowners are delaying selling, putting new construction front and center.…

New Home Sales Slip As Existing Sales Surge

New home sales declined in February as existing sales surged, showing buyers still prefer affordable, older stock over new when it becomes available. That’s according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which reported sales down by 0.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 662,000, slipping from the month priors’ revised rate of 664,000. Sales were still up by 5.9% from the same time last year, however. The decline was the first in three months and generally unexpected by analysts, according to Bloomberg. Surveyed economists had predicted a rate of 667,000. There were 463,000 new homes for sale at the end of the month. This represents an 8.4-month supply at the…

New Home Sales Improved YOY But Fell Short Of Expectations

New home sales improved YOY in January despite elevated rates and higher prices, though didn’t hit the mark on analysts’ expectations. That’s according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which reported sales up by 1.5% from December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 661,000, a jump from the month priors’ revised rate of 651,000. New home sales were up 1.8% from the same time last year. While the report is good news, the numbers fell short of experts’ predictions. A survey of economists by Bloomberg predicted a rate of 684,000. There were 456,000 new homes for sale at the end of the month. This represents an 8.3-month supply at the…

New Home Sales Spiked In December

New home sales spiked in December as cooling rates encouraged purchase-shy buyers to make the leap. That’s according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which reported sales up by 8% from October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 664,000, a jump from the month priors’ revised rate of 615,000. December saw rates cool to the mid-6’s, a process that began in November but needed time to bear out fully. The data suggests potential buyers who were cautious at first eventually came to terms with slightly lower rates and jumped into the market. New home sales were up 4.4% from the same time last year. There were 453,000 new homes for…

Starts Slipped, Permits Surged In December

Home construction slipped for the first time in four months in December, with single-family starts taking a hit. Residential home construction fell 4.3% last month to a 1.46 million annualized rate, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. They were up 7.6% from December 2022’s rate of 1.36 million, however. The dip comes on the heels of a surge in November that sent new construction to a 6-month high. Notably, the decline was driven by single-family construction. Multi-family starts actually rose to a 5-month high. Permit applications also fared well after performing poorly the month prior. Single-family permits soared to their highest rate since May 2022, and multi-family also ticked up.  Permits offer an indication of future construction, suggesting…

New Home Sales Slowed To A Crawl In November

New home sales sank again in November despite cooling mortgage rates, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Sales fell by 12.2% from October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 590,000, well below the rate of 685,000 units predicted by economists. This is the sharpest decline since April 2022. November saw the beginning of a cool down that brought interest rates to the mid-6’s. But at the start of that process, rates were at their highest levels in more than two decades, nearing 8%. New home sales were up only 1.4% year-over-year, a notable decline from the month prior’s 17.7% YOY increase. Lack of existing inventory pushed buyers to new…

New Home Sales Sank In October

New home sales sank in October as mortgage rates priced potential buyers out of the market, according to newly released data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Sales fell by 5.6% from September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 679,000, below the rate of 730,000 units predicted by economists. New home sales are up 17.7% year-over-year, however, as lack of existing inventory pushes buyers to new construction. There were 439,000 new homes for sale at the end of October, representing a 7.8-month supply at the current sales rate. The median sales price of new houses sold in October 2023 was $409,300, while the average sales price was $487,000, both down by more…

New Home Sales Spiked In September

New home sales sprang back to life in September, according to newly released data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Sales rose by 12.3% from August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 759,000. This is well above the rate of 680,000 units predicted by economists. The median price for a new home was $418,800, while the average sales price was $503,900, both down. But the increase may not hold over as the end of the year approaches, bringing with it historically lower-volume months. “While the overall number of potential homebuyers is down, ‘patience’ seems to be the mantra for those still in the market, and lenders would do well to follow suit,…

New Home Sales Sank In August

New home sales sank in August as homebuyers faced soaring prices and rates, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Sales declined by 8.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 675,000. They were up 5.8% from the same time last year, however. The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale was 436,000, representing a supply of 7.8 months at the current sales rate. The median price for a new home was $430,300, down from the month prior, while the average sales price was $514,000, up slightly. Newly built homes cost about as much as existing homes now thanks to inventory shortages, and they’re accounting for more of the…

New Homes Make Up Nearly One-Third Of The Market

As high rates keep sellers locked in their current homes, new homes are making up an increasing share of the market. Newly built homes made up almost a third of all single-family homes on the market in Q2 2023 (31.4%), according to a new report from Redfin. This is up 30.3% YOY and almost double the share from Q2 2019 (17%). It’s a new record for any second quarter in Redfin’s data, though not the highest share ever. In fact, it’s down from Q1 2023’s share of 33.6%, though Redfin notes the decline follows a normal seasonal trend of new home shares peaking in the winter. Though builders have slowed home construction, no longer producing the same inventory they did…