Sales of new single-family homes in April fell 4.7% to a 634,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate from a downwardly revised reading in March, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. The pace was down 7.7% from April 2023.
The National Association of Home Builders said that mortgage rates that averaged above 7% since mid-April "acted as a drag on new home sales."
“The last four weeks mortgage rates have been above 7%, and this is clearly causing many potential home buyers to sit on the fence,” said Carl Harris, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a custom home builder from Wichita, Kan., in a statement. “However, in the weeks and months ahead, we expect mortgage rates to fall below 7%. Moderating rates, along with a dearth of existing inventory, should help new home sales recover as new construction will be needed to meet the demand for homes, especially during this crucial spring/summer season.”
The new single-family home inventory in April was 480,000, up 12.1% compared to the previous year; that represents 9.1 months of supply at the current building pace
The median new home sale price in April was $433,500, down 1.4% from March and up 3.9% compared with April 2023.
New home sales were up 22.4% in the Northeast, 22.3% in the Midwest and 14.0% in the West but down 10.5% in the South.
