Sales of new single-family homes slump to four-month low

While the March reading represents the biggest monthly decline in almost a year, Fannie Mae deputy chief economist Mark Palim said the series tends to be volatile and follows large upward revisions to the January and February readings.

“Taken as a whole, the first quarter saw 814,000 new homes sold on an annualized basis, the highest since Q1 2021 and slightly above our expectations,” he said.

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“Demographics remain a strong driver of housing demand, and as the market adjusts to deliver product at price points and formats that align with this demand, sales are likely to be bolstered,” Mangold added.

The median sales price of new houses sold in March was $436,700, while the average sales price was $523,900. The seasonally-adjusted estimate of new houses for sale was 407,000, representing a supply of 6.4 months at the current sales rate.