Sales of new single-family homes in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,021,000, according to estimates released by the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 20.7% above the revised February rate of 846,000 and is 66.8% above the March 2020 estimate of 612,000.
“As expected, the new-home sales report released today by the Census Bureau showed a sharp rebound in March following a cold weather-induced February slump,” says Doug Duncan, chief economist at Fannie Mae. “Furthermore, the prior three months’ data were revised upward in total by 163,000 annualized units. After revisions, January and March were the first two months to eclipse 1 million annualized units sold since 2006.”
The median sales price of new houses sold in March was $330,800, while the average sales price was $397,800.
The seasonally adjusted estimate of new homes for sale was 307,000 at the end of March, representing a 3.6-month supply at the current sales rate.
“An extremely tight supply of existing homes for sale and favorable mortgage rates continue to drive demand for new homes,” continues Duncan. “In turn, home builders are struggling to keep up with demand, as the months’ supply of new homes for sale at the current pace fell to 3.6, just a tick above all-time lows. Furthermore, the March increase in homes sold-but-not-yet-started likely points toward continued strength in new-home construction in coming months.”
