Sales of new US single-family homes plunged in March as rising mortgage rates and prices reduced affordability.
- New home sales fell 8.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 763,000 units last month. February’s sales rate was revised higher to 835,000 units from the initially reported 772,000 units.
- Sales plunged in all four regions. Sales fell 12.6% on a year-on-year basis in March. They peaked at a pace of 993,000 units in January 2021, the highest level since the end of 2006.
- The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage hovered around 5.11% during the week ended April 21, the highest level since April 2010 and up from 5.00% in the previous week.
- The median new house price in March rose 21.4% from a year ago to $436,700. Nearly all the houses sold last month were above the $200,000 price level.
There were 407,000 new houses on the market, an increase from 392,000 units in February. Houses under construction accounted for 65.5% of the inventory.
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Source: US Census Bureau
