Declining Existing Inventory Helps Boost New-Home Sales

Sales of new single-family homes picked up at the tail-end of last year. According to an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data by the Calculated Risk blog, sales of new single-family houses in December 2024 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 698,000. Compared with the previous month’s 674,000 estimated rate, new-home sales increased by 3.6%. Sales increased even further year-over-year. In December 2023, an estimated annual rate of 654,000 home sales was recorded, marking a 6.7% increase year-over-year. New-home sales likely improved as a result of lower existing-home inventory. In December 2024, the months of supply declined.

The months of supply decreased in December to 8.5 months from 8.7 months in November.

The all-time record high was 12.2 months of supply in January 2009. The all-time record low was 3.3 months in August 2020. Read more