New home sales continued their downward trend from October, dropping 12.2% in November, with both decreases following a miraculous 12.3% growth in September.

Data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau states that sales of newly built, single-family homes were at a rate of 590,000 in November, 12.2% below the revised October rate of 672,000. This pace was the lowest annual rate since November 2022, but sales were up 3.9% on a year-to-date basis.

“New home sales were weaker in November as mortgage interest rates likely reached a cycle peak at 7.79% per Freddie Mac at the end of October,” said National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “Mortgage rates have since moved lower, with Freddie Mac reporting a 30-year fixed-rate of 6.67% this past week.”

New single-family home inventory was 451,000, up an overwhelming 16.5% from October. This represents a 9.2 months’ supply at the current building pace. Of total inventory, including new and existing homes, newly-built homes made up 31% of all single-family homes available for sale—compared to a 12% historical average.
The median sales price of new houses sold was $434,700, up 4.8% from October, and down 5.9% compared to a year ago. The average sales price was $488,900

Regionally, new-home sales are up by 3.1% in the Northeast and 25% in the Midwest, while they are down 20.9% in the South and 5.1% in the West. On a year-to-date basis, all four regions were up: 4.9% in the Northeast, 3.6% in the Midwest, 4.4% in the South and 2.6% in the West. 

“New home sales activity should improve in the months ahead as mortgage interest rates settle in below a 7% rate,” said NAHB chairman Alicia Huey. “Our latest builder survey turned positive in December, with builders indicating they expect a rise in future sales.”

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