New home sales drop 7.8 percent in January
Monday, February 26, 2018 Floor Covering Weekly
“The moderation in new home sales may be attributable to the interest rate environment, which could be causing short-term market volatility,” said NAHB senior economist Michael Neal. “However, the underlying economic fundamentals for housing demand remain strong and we expect more prospective home buyers to enter the market in 2018.”
The inventory of new home sales for sale was 301,000 in Jan., which is a 6.1-month supply at the current sales pace. The median sales price of new houses sold was $323,000.
Regionally, new home sales rose 15.4 percent in the Midwest and 1.0 percent in the West. Sales decreased 14.2 percent in the South and 33.3 percent in the Northeast.