New home sales declined 5.9% in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 863,000, the U.S. Census Bureau reports. Compared with April 2020, new home sales are up 48.3%, largely due to a low sales volume caused by the pandemic last year.
The month-over-month new home sales decline came as the median sales price surged 20% year-over-year to $372,400.
"Higher costs have priced out buyers, particularly at the lower end of the market,” stated Robert Dietz of the National Association of Home Builders. “A year ago, 45% of new home sales were priced below $300,000. In April 2021, only 27% of new home sales were priced below $300,000."
Inventory also plummeted 33% compared with April 2020, falling to 316,000, a 4.4 month supply.
Regionally, new home sales in April fell 13.7% in the Northeast, 8.3% in the Midwest and 8.2% in the South. The West had an increase of 7.9%. New home sales in all regions are up significantly compared with April 2020.
