Sales of new single-family houses in April 2018 slipped 1.5% from March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 662,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The pace remained 11.6% above the April 2017 estimate of 593,000.
The median sales price of new houses sold in April 2018 was $312,400, down from 335,400 in March but slightly ahead of last April’s $311,100. The average sales price was $407,300, up from $366,000 in March and $365,800 last April.
Regionally, the Northeast was up 11.1% to a pace of 40,000, 5.3% ahead of a year earlier. The Midwest was flat with March at a pace of 91,000 but up 26.4% from April, 2017. The South was up 0.3% from March to a pace of 355,000, 6% above last April. The West declined 7.9% from March to a pace of 176,000, 18.9% ahead of a year earlier.
The seasonally-adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of April was 300,000, a supply of 5.4 months at the current sales rate.
Freddie Mac Deputy Chief Economist Len Kiefer issued the following analysis: “New home sales dipped a bit in April, but continue to trend higher on a year-over-year basis. The absolute level of new homes sales remains quite low compared to current demand levels and the overall population. But you can’t sell what hasn’t been built. As long as single-family home construction remains at a low level, so too will new home sales. Home builders are confident about the market and construction of new single-family homes has been grinding higher, so look for new home sales to keep trending upward for the remainder of the year.”
