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Falling new-home sales still up from a year ago
New-home sales fell to 697,000 units in December – down 0.4 percent from November's downwardly-revised rate of 694,000 units. However, sales were 23 percent higher than a year ago.
"New home sales finished the year 10 percent higher by volume than in 2018, with most of those gains coming in the second half of the year," said NAFCU Chief Economist and Vice President of Research Curt Long in a NAFCU Macro Data Flash report. "As a spate of new construction comes online, that should address those pockets where supply shortages still persist, while continuing to place downward pressure on price growth."
Sales increased in two of the four regions in December: in the West 31 percent, followed by the Midwest (+10.1 percent). Sales fell 15.4 percent in the Southern region and 11.8 percent in the Northeast. Also of note, compared to a year ago, sales increased in three of the four regions.
Based on current month sales, there were 5.7 months of supply in December, up slightly from the previous month. The number of unsold homes left on the market rose to 327,000 units. This represents a 5.5 percent increase from a year ago.
Additional data can be found in the Macro Data Flash report.