Having dropped 9 percent in November, the seasonally adjusted pace of new single-family home sales in the U.S. ticked back up 8 percent in December and ended the year 4.4 percent higher than at the end of 2022 but 9.2 percent lower than at the end of 2019, prior to the pandemic.
That being said, the median sale price of the new homes sold last month ($413,200) was 3 percent lower than in November, nearly 14 percent lower than at the same time last year, with the average down over 14 percent, and nearly 17 percent below last year’s peak of closer to $500,000, with inventory levels ticking up a percent and now 41 percent higher than prior to the pandemic and within 3 percent of a 15-year high, despite continued misreporting of “supply constraints.”
