New home sales fell 16.6% from March to April, dropping to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 591,000, the U.S. Census Bureau reported. Compared with April 2021, new home sales were down 26.9%.
The National Association of Home Builders called the sharp decline “a further sign of a housing slowdown.”
“The April drop for new home sales is a clear recession warning,” NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz said in a statement. “The median price of a newly-built single-family home increased 19.7% year-over-year. The combination of higher prices and increased interest rates are generating a notable slowing of the housing market.”
Regionally, year-to-date, new home sales fell 16.8% in the Midwest, 19.3% in the South and 0.6% in the West. The Northeast recorded a 6.5% increase in new home sales.
The median sales price of new homes was $450,600. The estimate of new houses for sale at the end of April was 444,000, a supply of 9.0 months at the current sales pace.
The full Census Bureau report can be found here.
