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Single-Family Home Sales Jumped 9.6% in March

As economic conditions such as inflated mortgage rates and elevated home prices remain a hurdle for Americans nationwide looking to sell or buy, the U.S. Census Bureau [1] and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development [2] (HUD) announced new residential sales statistics [3] for March 2023.

“According to the Census Bureau, new single-family home sales jumped 9.6% in March to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) of 683,000, stronger than our expectation and the strongest pace in a year," said Mark Palim, Fannie Mae Deputy Chief Economist. "The months’ supply of units for sale at the current sales pace fell eight-tenths to 7.6, the lowest in a year. The March report continued to highlight the resilience of the new home market despite current affordability challenges, as the extremely tight supply of existing homes has prospective buyers turning toward new homes instead." [4]

New Home Sales

Sales of new single‐family houses in March 2023 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 683,000, according to
estimates released jointly today by HUD and the U.S. Census Bureau. This is 9.6% above the revised February rate of 623,000, but remains 3.4% below the March 2022 estimate of 707,000.

Sales Price

The median sales price of new houses sold in March was an overall $449,800. The average sales price was $562,400.

For Sale Inventory and Months’ Supply

The seasonally‐adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of March was 432,000. This represents a supply
of 7.6 months at the current sales rate. [5]

"The jump in the sales of homes that have not yet been started also suggests that single-family housing starts will increase over the coming months," said Palim. "However, we believe ripples from the banking turmoil in March may lead to a tightening in construction lending, which could weigh on future new home construction and, thus, sales. We continue to expect homebuilders to utilize mortgage rate buydowns and other concessions to move their elevated levels of completed homes for sale, though the current strong demand may result in fewer incentives to move inventory in the future.”

To read the full report, including more data, charts and methodology, click here [3].