Sales of new homes surged 20.7% in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.02 million, the U.S. Census Bureau reports. Compared with March 2020, new home sales increased 66.8%.
National Association of Home Builders credited the increase to strong buyer traffic and continued low mortgage rates.
"Despite the increase in sales, housing affordability remains a major concern," stated NAHB Assistant VP of Forecasting Danushka Nanayakkara-Skillington. "With building material pricing, the challenge for builders in 2021 will be to deal with higher input costs while making sure home prices remain within reach for American home buyers."
The median sales price for new homes in March was $330,800, with an average sales price of $397,800.
New home inventory declined 44.6% year-over-year to 307,000, a 3.6 month supply at the current sales pace.
Regionally, year-over-year new home sales fell 3.3% in the West and increased 36.6% in the Northeast, 53.9% in the Midwest and 50.5% in the South.
The full report can be found here.
