New Home Sales Fell 8.6% In March

Sales of new single‐family houses fell 8.6% in March from a month earlier, and were down 12.6% from a year earlier, the federal government said today.

According to the latest data released jointly by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing & Urban Development, sales of single-family homes totaled a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 763,000 in March, compared to the revised February rate of 835,000 and the March 2021 estimate of 873,000.

Sales of new single-family homes fell in every region in March from a month earlier. Sales fell 10.2% in the South, 8.7% in the Midwest, 6% in the West and 5.4% in the Northeast, according to the report.

The median sales price of new houses sold in March was $436,700, up 3.6% from the median price of $421,600 a month earlier, the report said. The median price means half of the homes sold for more and half for less. The average sales price in March was $523,900, up 3.1% from $508,100 in February.  

The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of March was 407,000, representing a supply of 6.4 months at the current sales rate, the report said.