Newsroom

October 26, 2016

New-home sales up 3.1% in September

New-home sales increased 3.1 percent from August's downwardly revised 575,000 annualized units to reach 593,000 units in September – which is 29.8 percent higher than a year ago.

NAFCU Research Assistant Yun Cohen said that despite both August's and July's numbers having been downwardly revised, September shows the overall trend is positive.

"Sales year-to-date were 12.8 percent higher compared to the same period in 2015," Cohen wrote in a Macro Data Flash. "Demand for housing remains robust as a result of an improving labor market, low mortgage rates, higher rental prices and more favorable lending standards."

The median new-home price, non-seasonally adjusted, increased from $293,800 in August to $313,500 in September – up 1.9 percent from last year.