New home sales jumped 5.9% in November compared with December to reach an annual rate of 664,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
That’s up 8.7% compared with November 2023.
The median sales price of a new home sold in November was $402,600. The average sales price was $484,800.
As of the end of the month, there were about 490,000 new homes available for sale in the U.S. – about an 8.9-month supply at the current sales rate.
“November’s rebound in new-home sales was softer than consensus expectations, partially because mortgage rates increased 38 basis points in November,” says Odeta Kushi, deputy chief economist for First American, in a statement. “Higher-for-longer mortgage rates are a headwind to both builders and buyers – increasing buyers’ monthly mortgage payment and raising financing costs for builders.”
“Nevertheless, we expect the new-home market to outperform the existing-home market in this environment,” Kushi says. “Builders have inventory they need to sell, and the ability to offer incentives to coax buyers off the sidelines.”
Kushi notes that the drop in the median new home price is partly due to a significant increase in the number of homes sold for under $300,000.
“In October, 13 percent of homes sold were in this price range, but this jumped to 25 percent in November, up from 17 percent a year ago,” she says. “When more homes are sold in the lower price tier, it pulls the median price down, even if prices in other tiers remain stable.”
Photo: Todd Kent
