New home sales increased 4.4% in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 714,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Compared with July 2022, new home sales were up 32.5%.
“New home sales were solid in July because of an ongoing housing deficit in the U.S. and a lack of resales stemming from many homeowners electing to stay put to preserve their low mortgage rates,” stated Alicia Huey, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders. “But builders are still confronting many challenges, including rising mortgage rates, supply chain issues for electrical transformers, a dearth of skilled workers and elevated construction costs.”
Regionally, month-over-month, new home sales rose 47.4% in the Midwest and 21.5% in the West. New home sales declined in the Northeast and South by 2.9% and 6.3%, respectively.
The median sales price of new homes in July was $436,700, with an average sales price of $513,000.
The full new home sales report can be found here.
