New home sales have now increased for the third straight month, according to the latest data from the Census Bureau.
- M-O-M: Sales of new single‐family houses increased to an annual rate of 640,000 in February, up 1.1% from January and the highest level since last August.
- Y-O-Y: Despite the jump, sales were still down 19.0% from the same time last year.
Swing & A Miss. Even though sales were up for the month economists were projecting a bigger jump to an annual rate of 650k.
Southern Dominance. The South continues to dominate the other three regions with 65% of all new home sales happening in the South, up from 64% last month but higher than the 58% reported in February 2022.
- The West was a distance second with 21% of all new home sales followed by the Midwest (11%) and the Northeast (3.0%).
Sales Price. The median sales price of new houses sold was $438,200 in February 2023, up 3.0% from last month but still down 12.0% from the peak in October ($496,800).
- The average sales price increased to $498,700.
Inventory. The seasonally‐adjusted estimate of new houses for sale was 436,000 at the end of February, down 1.0% from last month and now down 6.0% from the September peak (463k).
- This represents a supply of 8.2 months at the current sales rate. The lowest level since March 2022.