The seasonally adjusted pace of new single-family home sales in the U.S. jumped 9.6 percent in March to an annualized rate of 683,000 sales but was still 3.4 percent lower than at the same time last year, 21.8 percent lower than in February of 2021, and roughly 12 percent lower than in January of 2020, prior to the pandemic having hit.
At the same time, while the net number of new homes on the market inched down half a percent to 432,000, there were still 5.1 percent more new homes on the market than there were at the same time last year and a little under 8 months of inventory, which technically represents a “buyer’s market” for those who actually like that stat.
And having ticked up 3.8 percent from February to $449,800, the median sale price of the new homes that sold last month was 3.2 percent higher than at the same time last year, driven by a continued increased in the percentage of more expensive home sales (i.e., a shift in the mix) versus an increase in values.