In February, new-home sales increased 4.9 percent over the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual 667,000 pace, according to the latest data from the Department of Commerce.
Annually, new-home sales increased 6 basis points. Overall, the sales pace in February was the highest reading since March 2018. The median price of homes sold in February was $315,300, down four percent year-over-year. Stephen Stanley, chief economist for Amherst Pierpont Securities, tells MarketWatch, “The nascent signs of improvement in housing demand in early 2019 are hopefully bringing us to a Goldilocks stance, somewhere in between the too-hot market seen for much of the last few years and the too-cold picture seen for a while late last year."
Since the housing crisis of a decade ago, it’s been hard for home builders to get back into a groove. They’ve struggled to balance secular, long-term headwinds with the fallout from the housing bust, and to meet customers at the price points they can afford. That’s kept conditions in the industry choppy.
Through the noise, however, there’s been steady — and growing — customer demand for new homes. The average existing home in America is 37 years old, according to an analysis by the National Association of Home Builders. And many current homeowners aren’t willing or able to sell their properties.
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