New Home Sales Soared
The focal point of the housing market in 2023 was the surge in new home sales, a trend expected to persist in the current year. Highlighting this trend, new home sales increased by 4.4% in December 2023 compared to the previous year, according to census data released on Thursday. Furthermore, sales experienced an 8% rise from November, possibly influenced by declining mortgage rates.
According to Axios,
Why it matters: Buyers are going where the houses are — and the deals, too.
Zoom in: While existing homeowners are sitting on their heels, homebuilders are itching to sell, offering plenty of incentives — including lower rates on mortgages.
- Inventory of new homes is up. At the current sales rate, there’s an 8-month supply of houses — meaning that’s how long it would take to sell all the homes on the market. It’s 3.2 months for existing homes.
- And prices are down. They’ve been falling for months and were down 14% in December from last year.
