The New Home Pending Sales Index by Zonda (formerly Meyers Research) rose to 168.9 in October, up 0.8% from September and up 45.8% on a year-over year basis.
“Housing demand is not letting up, and the best thing about today’s market is that the strength is largely fueled by real families looking to take advantage of low mortgage rates to buy a home and fulfill their American dream,” says Ali Wolf, chief economist at Zonda.
At the market level, pending sales rose in all of the index’s 20 select markets. Raleigh, North Carolina, leads the pack with 81.7% YOY growth, followed by Denver with 69.3% YOY growth and Jacksonville, Florida, with 68.4% YOY growth. High demand is pulling down community counts by 15% nationwide, led by markets including Seattle, Washington, D.C., and Denver.
Raleigh, Denver, and Jacksonville all ranked within the top 15 with the most single-family permits pulled this year to date. Denver and Jacksonville are outperforming the national average rate for jobs regained after the losses felt in March and April; Denver has regained 60% of its jobs while Jacksonville has regained 65%, compared with the 54% national average.
“As COVID-19 hospitalizations rise and parts of the country start shutting down again, housing plays an even greater role in our life,” says Wolf. “Looking into 2021, however, some builders are expressing caution over the sustainability of the current growth rates due to limited inventory and some affordability concerns.”
