New Home Sales in U.S. Dip 1.7 Percent Mid-Summer
"A lack of overall housing inventory is pushing up home prices, which is hurting affordability and causing prospective buyers to delay making a home purchase," said Randy Noel, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).
"Although this month marks the lowest sales pace since last October, we continue to see solid housing demand due to economic strengthening and positive demographic tailwinds," said NAHB Senior Economist Danushka Nanayakkara-Skillington. "Builders need to manage rising construction costs to keep their homes competitively priced for the newcomers to the housing market."
A new home sale occurs when a sales contract is signed or a deposit is accepted. The home can be in any stage of construction: not yet started, under construction or completed. In addition to adjusting for seasonal effects, the July reading of 627,000 units is the number of homes that would sell if this pace continued for the next 12 months.
The inventory of new homes for sale was 309,000 in July, which is a 5.9-month supply at the current sales pace. The median sales price rose to $328,700.
Regionally, new home sales rose 10.9 percent in the West and 9.9 percent in the Midwest. Sales fell 3.3 percent in the South and 52.3 percent in the Northeast. Year-to-date, sales in the Northeast are down 14.5 percent as that region deals with impacts from tax reform and persistent affordability issues.
According to Freddie Mac's most recent Primary Mortgage Market Survey for November 2018, U.S. mortgage rates dropping slightly after last week's increases.
According to data by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. sales of newly built, single-family homes fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 553,000 units after downwardly revised August, July and June reports.
According to Freddie Mac latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey for the first week of September 2018, U.S. mortgage rates jumped over the past week to a level not seen in over a month.
More than 1.5 million (1,527,433) loans secured by residential property were originated in Q2 2018, down 16 percent from the previous quarter.
According to Freddie Mac's July 2018 Housing Forecast, exceptionally low housing supply and weaker affordability slowed the housing market in the first half of 2018, but total sales activity should still slightly top year-ago levels.
Based on a new rental housing report by Zillow, rent options for black renters were far fewer than what Asian or white renters could choose from last year.
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