Unsold New-Construction Inventory Piles Up

As buyer demand wavers, the share of unsold new single-family homes continues to pile up. Citing data from the ResiClub blog, Fast Company reports that the number of unsold homes has grown from 61,000 in April 2018 to 117,000 in April 2025. That’s the highest level seen since July 2009, when the total number of unsold new-construction homes hit 126,000. Many of these homes are thought to be in the Sun Belt, especially near the Gulf Coast, where inventory has been growing at a more rapid pace than in other regions of the U.S.

While the U.S. Census Bureau doesn’t give us a greater market-by-market breakdown on these unsold new builds, we have a good idea where they are based on where total active inventory homes for sale (including existing) has spiked above pre-pandemic 2019 levels. Most of those areas are in the Sun Belt around the Gulf.

Some builders are experiencing pricing pressure, particularly in major housing markets like Florida and Texas, where resale inventory remains significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels.