The Census Bureau’s monthly New Home Sales figures track sales of new single-family houses on a seasonally adjusted basis. Also published is the median sale price of these homes. New home sales is considered a more timely measure of housing market conditions and is influential due to its impact on the wider economy – it generates investments, new jobs, and increased spending.
Sales of new single-family homes for the month of October came in at 679,000, down from a revised 719,000 for September and lower than expected. This represents a 5.6% decrease month-over-month, but a 17.7% increase from this time last year.
The median sales price saw a 3.1% decrease on a month-over-month basis to $409,300 (not seasonally adjusted), down from $422,300 in September. The supply of new homes at the current sales rate is 8.8 months, up from 7.8 months in the previous month.
Seasonally adjusted, new home sales decreased in two of four regions, the Midwest and West, by 16.4% and 23.3%, respectively. The South and Northeast saw increases of 2.1% and 13.2%, respectively.
Demand for new construction remains due to constrained existing home inventory, but high mortgage rates for those not paying cash continues to wreak havoc on the entire housing market.
