New-Home Sales Spark 4.9 PercentBy RISMedia Staff
February's new-home sales stirred, boosted by low mortgage rates, according to the Commerce Department.
New-Home Sales: 667,000
Months' Supply: 6.1 Median Price: $315,300 What the Industry's Saying "The recent decline in mortgage rates have helped boost sales activity as homebuyers take advantage of these lower interest rates." – Greg Ugalde, Chairman, National Association of Home Builders "The wounds from January's disappointing numbers may be still raw, but today's surprisingly upbeat figures offer at least a partial reprieve for the new-home sales market and paint a promising picture for the coming months. Declining mortgage rates, slowing home-value growth and stronger wage gains all helped February's figures put their best foot forward, improving would-be buyers' affordability and empowering them to enter the market…and while concerns about an economic slowdown have begun to appear, the builder pipeline is a long one that will take months to respond to these changes. With mortgage rates primed to stay low and more inventory coming on the market, expect rosy buying conditions—although possibly not such rosy numbers as these, given mounting economic uncertainty—to remain as we enter the busy shopping season." – Matthew Speakman, Economic Data Analyst, Zillow |
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