New single-family homes sales fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 657,000 according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The January reading was 10.5% below the revised December rate of 734,000 and is 1.1% below the January 2024 estimate of 664,000.
The decrease in new home sales was driven by losses in the Northeast (-20.0%), followed by the Midwest (-16.7%), then South (-14.8%), while the West saw an increase of (7.7%).
The median sales price of new houses sold in January was $446,300, up 4.5% from December. The average sales price was $510,000, down 0.7% from the previous month.
At the end of January, the seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale was 495,000, which represents a supply of 9.0 months at the current sales rate.
Read the Census/HUD release.