New Home Sales Increase to 693,000 Annual Rate in March

Median New Home Price is Down 13% from the Peak

The Census Bureau reports New Home Sales in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 693 thousand. The previous three months were revised down, combined.

March 2024 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 693,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 8.8 percent above the revised February rate of 637,000 and is 8.3 percent above the March 2023 estimate of 640,000.
emphasis added

The first graph shows New Home Sales vs. recessions since 1963. The dashed line is the current sales rate.

New home sales were close to pre-pandemic levels. The second graph shows New Home Months of Supply.

The months of supply decreased in March to 8.3 months from 8.8 months in February. The all-time record high was 12.2 months of supply in January 2009. The all-time record low was 3.3 months in August 2020. This is well above the top of the normal range (about 4 to 6 months of supply is normal).

"The seasonally‐adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of March was 477,000. This represents a supply of 8.3 months at the current sales rate."

On inventory, according to the Census Bureau:

"A house is considered for sale when a permit to build has been issued in permit-issuing places or work has begun on the footings or foundation in nonpermit areas and a sales contract has not been signed nor a deposit accepted."

Starting in 1973 the Census Bureau broke this down into three categories: Not Started, Under Construction, and Completed. The third graph shows the three categories of inventory starting in 1973.

The inventory of completed homes for sale (red) - at 89 thousand - is almost triple the record low of 32 thousand in 2021 and early 2022. This is close to the normal level of completed homes for sale.

The inventory of homes under construction (blue) at 282 thousand is very high but is about 11% below the cycle peak in July 2022. The inventory of homes not started is at 106 thousand - this is the all-time high.

The fourth graph shows new home sales for each month, Not Seasonally Adjusted (NSA), for a few selected periods. Black is the maximum sales per month during the bubble (2005) and light gray is the minimum sales during the bust (2008 - 2011). The most recent six years are shown (2019 through 2024).