New home sales increased 1.5 percent in 2018 compared with 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The report, which was delayed by the partial government shutdown, also showed new home sales growth of 3.7 percent in December 2018 to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 621,000 units.
“The slight gain for 2018 reflects solid underlying demand for homeownership,” National Association of Home Builders Chairman Greg Ugalde said in a statement. “Housing affordability remains a challenge across the country, but conditions have improved in early 2019, as illustrated by the recent uptick in builder confidence.”
New home inventory rose to 344,000 in December, compared with 294,000 in the same period last year. The median sales price for new homes declined to $318,600 compared with December 2017’s $343,300.
Regionally in 2018, new home sales declined 16 percent in the Northeast and 1 percent in the West and increased 6 percent in the Midwest and 4 percent in the South.
