New-Home Sales Drop as Median Sales Prices Surge to New Highs

The pace of new-home sales is dipping across the U.S. as the median sale price for a single-family home climbs to a new high and rising mortgage rates drive up monthly payments. A lack of affordability is pushing more first-time buyers out of the market and making new home purchases a largely unachievable prospect for most, Realtor.com reports.

New-home sales dropped 8.6% to an annual rate of 763,000 in March, while the median sales price for a new home reached $436,700, a $77,000 year-over-year gain coinciding with skyrocketing mortgage rates and elevated inflation. New-home construction is up 33% year-over-year, but until record-high prices subside, entry level buyers will continue to hold off on new home purchases.

U.S. new-home sales decreased 8.6% to an annual rate of 763,000 in March, the government said Tuesday. That figure represents the quantity of homes that would be sold over a yearlong period of time if the same number of properties were bought each month based on the rate of sales in March.

There were 407,000 newly-built homes for sale at the end of March, up 33% from a year earlier and nearly 4% from the previous month. This equated to a 6.4-month supply of new homes, roughly in line with the supply level that is viewed as indicative of a balanced market.

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