New-home
sales
reached
a
seasonally
adjusted
annual
rate
of
693,000
in
March,
according
to

data
published
Tuesday
by
the


U.S.
Census
Bureau
and
the

U.S.
Department
of
Housing
and
Urban
Development
(HUD).
This
figure
represents
an
8.8%
increase
from
the
revised
February
rate
of
637,000
sales,
and
it
also
marks 
an
8.3%
rise
from
the
March
2023
pace
of
649,000
units
sold.

“The
new
home
market
has
been
an
outsized
share
of
the
housing
inventory,
so
homebuilders
have
been
able
to
attract
prospective
homebuyers
who
are
seeing
very
limited
supply
in
the
existing
home
market,”

Bright
MLS
chief
economist
Lisa
Sturtevant
said
in
a
statement.

“Some
builders
have
been
able
to
pivot
to
meet
demand
by
building
smaller
homes.
Many
homebuilders
are
also
able
to
offer
concessions
and
rate
buydowns
to
make
a
new
home
purchase
more
attractive.
According
to
the
March
data,
however,
builders
are
not
slashing
prices.”

In
spite
of
the
strong
results
in
March,
homebuilder
sentiment
stalled
in
April
on
the
back
of
elevated

mortgage
rates
and
a
stronger-than-expected

inflation
reading.
Mortgage
applications
for
new
homes
also
stagnated
in
March
as
buyers
felt
the
brunt
of
sustained
home
price
growth.
Applications
for

new-home
purchases
rose
only
1%
from
February
to
March.

At
the
end
of
March,
there
were
477,000
new
homes
available
for
sale.
At
the
current
sales
pace,
there
is
an
8.3-month
supply
of
new
single-family
homes,
according
to
census
and
HUD
data. 

The
median
sale
price
for
a
new
home
rose
to
$430,700
in
March,
up
6%
from
a
year
ago.
Meanwhile,
the
median
price
of
an
existing
home
sold
last
month
was
$393,500,
meaning
that
new
homes
are
still
selling
for
nearly
10%
more
than
existing
homes.

According
to
Sturtevant,
it
would
take
two
main
factors
to
take
some
of
the
wind
out
of
the
new
home
market:
a
significant
increase
in
the
supply
of
existing
homes
and
a
significant
decline
in
demand
prompted
by
a
weakening
of
the
labor
market.

“The
labor
market
has
been
surprisingly
resilient
over
the
past
couple
of
years,”
Sturtevant
said.
“The
jobs
numbers
are
impressive
and
unemployment
remains
low.
Despite
those
positive
metrics,
there
are
signs
that
workers
are
feeling
a
little
less
certain,
as
the
job
turnover
rate
has
moderated. 

“Housing
demand
may
weaken
as
we
head
into
summer
—
especially
as
mortgage
rates
remain
elevated.
However,
the
bigger
story
is
about
supply
—
not
demand.
With
more
existing
homes
coming
onto
the
market,
homebuilders
may
see
less
traffic
later
this
spring
and
into
the
summer.” 

CoreLogic
chief
economist
Selma
Hepp
echoed
similar
thoughts
in
prepared
remarks. 

“New
home
sales
continue
to
be
a
bright
spot
in
the
housing
industry,”
Hepp
said.
“Homebuilder
confidence
and
buying
incentives
are
helping
to
counterbalance
high
values
and
interest
rates.
However,
compared
to
years
in
the
past,
new
home
sales
still
aren’t
performing
as
well
as
necessary
to
help
reduce
the
high
demand
for
new
homes
in
the
near
term.”

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