New home sales in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of about 673,000, down 6.9% compared with a revised rate of about 723,000 in March but up 7.0% compared with about 629,000 in April 2018, according to estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The median sales price of a new home sold in April was $342,200.
The average sales price was $393,700.
As of the end of April, about 332,000 new homes were available for sale in the U.S. – about a 5.9-month supply at the current sales rate.
“After a challenging final quarter of 2018, data for the start of the year shows stabilization and modest growth for home sales,” says Greg Ugalde, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), in a statement. “Our builder surveys show that traffic is steadily increasing. The challenge facing builders is how to deal with ongoing supply-side constraints such as a lack of buildable lots and labor that are putting upward pressure on housing costs.”
“The strong March sales pace was due to a combination of lower interest rates and the use of builder price incentives,” adds Robert Dietz, chief economist for NAHB. “At the same time, the April sales report was a solid number coming off a very strong March reading.”
