Sales of new single-family houses in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 511,000, which is 1.5 percent below the February rate of 519,000 but 5.4 percent higher than the rate in March 2015 of 485,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
"Though sales were flat this month, they are running modestly higher on a year-over-year basis," said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz in a statement. "We expect the sales pace to rise through 2016, given ongoing low mortgage interest rates and healthy job creation."
Regionally, the Midwest and South reported new house sales increases of 18.5 percent and 5 percent, respectively. Sales remained unchanged in the Northeast and fell 23.6 percent in the West.
The median sales price of new houses sold in March was $288,000, and the average sales price was $356,200.
At 246,000, the seasonally adjusted estimate of the number of new houses for sale at the end of March represents a supply of 5.8 months at the current sales rate.
