Newsroom

May 24, 2016

New-home sales, prices surge in April

New-home sales increased sharply by 16.6 percent in April to 619,000 annualized units, marking the fastest sales pace since January 2008.

The increase is also the highest monthly percentage gain since 1992. New-home sale numbers were 23.8 percent higher than a year before, according to data from the Census Bureau. The median new-home price, non-seasonally adjusted, increased from $297,900 in March to $321,100 in April – making April's prices the highest ever on record.

NAFCU Research Assistant Yun Cohen analyzed the data for a Macro Data Flash and found that both the Northeast and the South saw their fastest sales pace since late 2007 in April.

"Prices rose sharply as the market tightened over strong demand, which is sour news for home-buyers but should improve builders' confidence," Cohen wrote. "Residential construction has been trending sideways during the past year due to shortages of workers and land. The supply side constraint is expected to persist for the near future, but the outlook remains positive in light of labor market strength, low mortgage rates and high rental prices."

At 4.7 months of supply, April's supply level is sharply down from March's 5.5 months and the lowest level since February 2015.