7 Hot New-Home Markets This Summer

The U.S. Census Bureau reported an 8.1 percent seasonally adjusted drop in new-home sales for June, but seven big markets didn’t meet status quo. Ending spring and at the very start of summer, these seven markets had at least a 5 percent increase in new-home closings from May to June and are still strong in what is shaping up to be a far slower summer than 2013 for new residential sales.

Using Metrostudy data, BUILDER ranks the top seven markets for start of summer new-home sales. First, markets are filtered to only include those that have a minimum of 350 recorded new-home closings so far for July, showing potential for continued market strength mid-summer as more market closings data is recorded. Next, the markets are ranked by the percent increase in closings from May to June. Note that data for June closings is preliminary as of publication; approximately 90 percent of closings are recorded meaning numbers may still go up.

Here are the top new-home markets kicking off summer sales including their growth, closings, and the leading builder by closings for the month of June.

1. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

17.3%

May Closings: 827

June Closings: 970

June Leading Builder: NVR

2. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash.

14.2%

May Closings: 544

June Closings: 621

June Leading Builder: Polygon Northwest

3. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif.

11.4%

May Closings: 428

June Closings: 477

June Leading Builder: Lennar

4. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Calif.

11.1%

May Closings: 594

June Closings: 660

June Leading Builder: Irvine Co.

5. San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas

9.9%

May Closings: 697

June Closings: 766

June Leading Builder: D.R. Horton

6. Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, N.C.-S.C.

7.8%

May Closings: 704

June Closings: 759

June Leading Builder: True Homes

7. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas

5.8%

May Closings: 2,184

June Closings: 2,311

June Leading Builder: D.R. Horton