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New home sales increased 4.1 percent in April to 683,000 annualized units, while sales in March were revised down 27,000 units. Compared to last year, April’s sales were 11.8 percent higher. NAFCU Chief Economist and Vice President of Research Curt Long analyzed the data in the Macro Data Flash report.

“New home sales continued to climb last month in a housing market desperate for inventory,” said Long. “High interest rates have had a major impact on the housing market, but the initial impact is subsiding. Its effects are pushing more buyers to purchase newly constructed homes as existing owners are reluctant to pay off their low-rate mortgages.”

Based on current month sales, there were 7.6 months of supply in April, unchanged from March. The number of unsold homes left on the market decreased 1,000 homes to 433,000. This represents a 0.2 percent decline from inventory levels a year ago.

Regionally, sales increased in the South (17.8 percent) and the Midwest (11.8 percent). Sales declined in the Northeast (-58.6 percent) and in the West (-9.1 percent).

Of note, the new home price, non-seasonally adjusted, fell 7.7 percent to $420,800 – 8.2 percent lower than a year earlier.

“The housing market was a huge headwind for the economy in 2022, but as long as the labor market maintains its strength, housing stands to support growth in the latter three quarters of this year,” concluded Long.

For more economic updates from NAFCU's award-winning research team, view all of NAFCU's Macro Data Flash reports.