New Home Sales Up 8.8% In March

Higher home prices and elevated mortgage rates did not stop buyers last month as new single‐family houses sales during March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 693,000, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Last month’s sales were 8.8% above the revised February rate of 637,000 and is 8.3% above the March 2023 estimate of 640,000.

The median sales price of new houses sold in March was $430,700 and the average sales price was $524,800. The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of March was 477,000, which represents a supply of 8.3 months at the current sales rate.