Briefing.com: New Home Sales

Updated: 25-Mar-24 10:22 ET

February New Home Sales

Updated: 25-Mar-24 10:22 ET

Highlights

New home sales decreased 0.3% month-over-month in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 662,000 units (Briefing.com consensus 680,000) from an upwardly revised 664,000 (from 661,000) in January.
On a year-over-year basis, new home sales were up 5.9%.

Key Factors

The median sales price decreased 7.6% yr/yr to $400,500 while the average sales price fell 2.8% to $485,000. February marked the sixth consecutive month of a year-over-year decline in the median selling price.
New home sales month-over-month/year-over-year by region: Northeast (-31.5%; +60.9%); Midwest (-2.4%; +15.3%); South (+3.7%; -10.0%); and West (+2.3%; +43.4%).
At the current sales pace, the supply of new homes for sale stood at 8.4 months, versus 8.3 months in January and 8.4 months in February 2023.
The percentage of new homes sold for $399,999 or less accounted for 50% of new homes sold versus 44% in January and 42% one year ago. Homes priced between $400,000 and $749,000 accounted for 38% of new homes sold versus 42% in January. New homes priced at $750,000 or over accounted for 11% of sales in February versus 13% in January.

Big Picture

The key takeaway from the report is that the overall level of sales was largely unchanged from January while the median selling price decreased for the sixth consecutive month, which is a welcome development for potential buyers.