US New Home Sales Drop 3.5 Pct In September From Previous Month

The number of new homes sold in the U.S. in September was lower than the number sold in August, according to a joint report by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The houses sold were at a seasonally adjusted rate of 959,000, which was 3.5 percent lower than the August rate of 994,000, the report stated. However, the rate is also 32.1 percent above the rate from September 2019 of 726,000.

The median price of new houses sold was sitting at $326,800, and the average sales price was $405,400, according to the report. The seasonally adjusted estimate for new houses for sale by the end of September was 284,000, which is a supply of 3.6 months at the current sales rate.

The next release on new residential sales is expected on Nov. 25, according to the report.

In separate news, the National Association of Realtors said the residential real estate sector for the U.S. had increased by almost 9 percent in July, PYMNTS reported. Home sales had swelled to 5.86 million in July, up from 5.39 million at the same time in 2019, and national median home sales had shot past $300,000 for the first time.

Every region of the U.S. saw an increase in price, with three of the four seeing sales hikes.

In the Midwest, home sales spiked 27.5 percent, with an annual rate of almost 1.4 million over the summer, and up 10 percent from a year ago. And in the South, sales rose by over 19 percent as the annual rate hit 2.6 million, with an annual rate increase of 10 percent in the median price from last year. Sales in the West increased by 30.5 percent to an annual rate of 1.2 million, up nearly 8 percent from last July.

The outlier was the Northeast, where sales fell by 6 percent to 640,000 in July this year. But the median price still saw an increase of 4 percent to $317,800.

Consumer purchases have been driven by concerns for health since the pandemic began, with consumers possibly being encouraged to try digital means for checking out new homes.