Sales of new homes increased 31.6% year-over-year in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 733,000, the U.S. Census Bureau reports.
The rate is 0.7% below September rates. Regionally, compared with September, sales declined 18.2% in the Northeast and 3.3% in the South. New homes sales increased 7.1%, 4.2% in the West and Midwest, respectively, compared with September.
The median sales price of new homes sold in October was $316,700, with an average sale price of $383,300.
“Forty-five percent of homes sold in October were priced below $300,000, which is an indication that more millennial buyers are taking advantage of low mortgage rates and entering into the marketplace,” National Association of Home Builders chair Greg Ugalde said in a statement.
The inventory of new houses for sale at the end of October was at a seasonally adjusted estimate of 322,000, representing a 5.3-month supply at the current sales rate.
The full Census Bureau report can be found here.
