New Home Sales Flatten from September to October

Sales of newly built single-family homes slipped slightly in October, but remains at a strong year-over-year high, says the National Association of Home Builders. Last month, newly built home sales rates dropped by 0.3%, according to numbers from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. Still, October sales remained 41.5% higher than October 2019 and 20.6% on a year-to-date basis. Demand remains high, as does builder confidence.

“Buyer traffic remained strong in October even as the country’s attention was focused on the elections and policy issues going into 2021,” said NAHB Chairman Chuck Fowke, a custom home builder from Tampa, Fla. “Mortgage rates remain low and builder confidence is at an all-time high indicating that demand remains steady and sales will remain solid.”

“NAHB analysis showed that the gap between construction and sales was at an all-time high in early fall. Thus, the NAHB forecast contains an acceleration in single-family starts and some slowing of the pace of growth for new homes sale to allow a catch-up,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “Demand remains strong as home buyers seek out lower density markets as part of the suburban shift.”

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