New Home Sales Up 32.1% Year-Over-Year, Back Off 14-Year High in September

New Residential Sales Beat Forecast for Five Straight Months Leading to September

Washington, D.C. (PPD) — The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) jointly reported the new residential sales statistics for August 2020. New home sales of single-family houses backed off 3.5% (±19.9%) to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 959,000 in September, a still solid number slightly below the forecast.

In August, soared 4.8% (±10.5%) to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,011,000 in August, the highest level since September 2006. While revised down for August, new home sales are now up 32.1% (±28.8%) from the September 2019 estimate of 726,000.

The median sales price of new houses sold in September 2020 came in at $326,800. The average sales price was $405,400. The seasonally-adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of September was 284,000. This represents a supply of 3.6 months at the current sales rate.

Housing Primed to Lead Economic Recovery

As People’s Pundit Daily (PPD) recently reported, indicators widely show the U.S. housing market is “booming”, surpassing pre-pandemic levels and expectations. Experts now foresee housing leading the economic recovery and have raised growth forecasts for the sector.

The NAHB Housing Market Index (HMI) reported builder confidence unexpectedly rose another 2 points to 85 in October, smashing the all-time high and beating the consensus forecast.

New residential construction statistics for housing starts and building permits again beat forecasts in September, defying the lingering effects due to coronavirus (COVID-19).

Building permits rose 5.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,553,000 and are 8.1% higher year-over-year. Housing starts rose 1.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,415,000, and are now 11.1% year-over-year.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported pending home sales hit an all-time high in August, surging nearly three times the consensus forecast by 8.8%. That marked the fourth straight month of solid gains.