Sales of newly built, single-family homes in October declined 17.3% to a 610,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. The pace of new home sales in October is down 9.4% compared to a year earlier. October new home sales are up 2.1% on a year-to-date basis.
Year-over-year data
New single-family home inventory in October remained elevated at a level of 481,000, up 8.8% compared to a year earlier. This represents a 9.5 months’ supply at the current building pace. Completed, ready-to-occupy inventory is up 52.6% to a level of 116,000, compared to a year ago. However, that inventory type remains 24% of total inventory.
The median new home sale price in October edged up 2.5% to $437,300 and is up 4.7% from a year ago.
Regionally, on a year-over-year basis, new home sales are up 35.3% in the Northeast and 15.9% in the Midwest. New home sales are down 19.7% in the South and 1.3% in the West.
NAHB's take on the data
“The decline in new home sales highlights the pressures on prospective buyers who are navigating tighter budgets and higher borrowing costs,” says Carl Harris, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders. “The drop also reflects a slowdown in buyer activity amid broader economic uncertainty.”
“Higher mortgage rates, up 60 basis points in October per Freddie Mac, and elevated home prices continued to worsen affordability challenges,” says Danushka Nanayakkara-Skillington, NAHB’s assistant vice president for forecasting and analysis. “Despite these headwinds, which also include increased material costs for builders, new construction remains a vital part of the market, especially in areas with low existing home inventory.”
