While new home sales posted a modest gain in December, elevated mortgage rates and higher construction costs continue to hinder housing affordability and put a damper on consumer demand. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau estimated sales of newly built, single-family homes in December at a 616,000 seasonally adjusted annual pace, which is… Read More ›
Tag Archive for ‘new home sales’
New Home Sales Increase in October
New home sales rebounded in October despite higher mortgage rates, likely due to low existing home inventory and builders using incentives to attract buyers to the new home market. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau estimated sales of newly built, single-family homes in October at a 632,000 seasonally adjusted annual pace, which is… Read More ›
All-Cash New Home Sales Outnumber FHA-Backed for the First Time Since 2007
NAHB analysis of the most recent Quarterly Sales by Price and Financing published by the U.S. Census Bureau reveals that new home sales financed through FHA numbered 11,000 and accounted for 7.5% of the total in Q3 2022–the smallest share since the fourth quarter of 2007. The share has dropped by nearly two-thirds since the spring of 2020. In contrast, the share… Read More ›
New Home Sales Up in August: Will Decline Again with Higher Rates
A brief decline in mortgage rates helped to boost new home sales in August but sales are expected to move lower in the months ahead as rates have since moved higher and builder sentiment continues to fall due to declining housing affordability and ongoing supply chain bottlenecks. Sales of newly built, single-family homes in August increased 28.8% to a 685,000… Read More ›
New Home Sales Plummet in July
New home sales in July fell to their lowest level since January 2016 as the industry grapples with supply chain disruptions that are delaying new home building projects and raising housing costs as mortgage interest rates increased. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau estimated sales of newly built, single-family homes in July at… Read More ›
Share of New Home Sales Backed by FHA Loans Reaches 14-Year Low
NAHB analysis of the most recent Quarterly Sales by Price and Financing published by the U.S. Census Bureau reveals that the four-quarter moving average (MA) share of new home sales financed through FHA was 11.0% in Q2 2022–its smallest share since early 2008. Conventional loans financed 74.8% of new home sales in the second quarter of 2022—a 1.8 percentage point quarter-over-quarter decline…. Read More ›
New Home Sales Plunge in June
New single-family home sales declined in June due to rising mortgage rates and worsening affordability conditions. Per Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage was 5.10% at the end of May and climbed to 5.70% by the end of June. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau estimated sales of newly built, single-family homes… Read More ›
New Home Sales Increase in May Before Fed’s June Rate Rise
After posting four consecutive monthly declines on rising mortgage rates and worsening affordability conditions, new home sales posted a solid gain in May as some buyers rushed into the market in advance of the Federal Reserve’s June interest rate hike. Sales of newly built, single-family homes in May increased 10.7% to a 696,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate from an upwardly… Read More ›
New Home Sales Fall on Higher Rates
New single-family home sales declined in March as mortgage rates jumped to the highest levels since the start of the pandemic. Per Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage was 3.89 at the end of February and had climbed to 4.67 at the end of March. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau estimated… Read More ›
Mortgage Rates Reach 3-Year High
In the past month, total mortgage activity, as measured by the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Market Composite Index, underwent a series of weekly declines, decreasing in the latest week by 6.3 percent. The latest week’s survey is for the week ending April 1. The latest week’s activity consisted of a 3.4 percent decrease in purchasing and a 9.9 percent decrease… Read More ›