NAHB: November New Home Sales Up

The US housing market had a substantial increase in November 2024, with sales of new single-family houses hitting a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 664,000, according to freshly released data from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and the United States Census Bureau.

This represents a 5.9% increase from the revised figures for October and an 8.7% increase from November 2023. November new home sales are up 2.4% year to date.

A new home sale takes place when a sales contract is signed or a deposit is accepted. The home can be at any stage of development: unfinished, under construction, or completed.

In addition to accounting for seasonal impacts, the November reading of 664,000 units represents the number of homes that would sell if the current rate maintained for the next 12 months.

New single-family home inventories remained elevated in November, at 490,000, up 8.9% from the previous year. At the current rate of construction, this equates to 8.9 months of supply.

A measure close to six months’ supply is deemed balanced.

While an 8.9 months’ supply could be deemed excessive in typical market conditions, there is now only a 3.8 months’ supply of existing single-family houses on the market.

Combined, new and current total months’ supply is below historic averages at around 4.5 months, however this figure is projected to rise as more house sellers test the market in the coming months.

A year ago, there were 79,000 completed, ready-to-occupy homes for sale (not seasonally adjusted). By the end of November 2024, that figure had risen 57% to 124,000.

However, completed, ready-to-occupy inventory still accounts for only 25% of overall inventory, with homes under construction accounting for 54%. The remaining 21% of new homes sold in November did not begin building when the sales contract was signed.

The median new house sale price in November fell 5.4% to $402,600, down 6.3% from the previous year.

In terms of affordability, the percentage of entry-level homes priced under $300,000 has progressively decreased in recent years.

Only 25% of the properties were priced in the entry-level affordable bracket, with 31% priced above $500,000. Most of the properties were priced between $300,000 and $500,000.

Year over year, new house sales are up 13.6% in the South and 10.0% in the Midwest. New home sales have fallen 1.4% in the West and 11.5% in the Northeast.

[Read more about this on Eyeonhousing.org]