The fall season is typically characterized by higher home prices and less time on the market for new homes than the rest of the year, and according to HousingWire, home builders are already bracing for stronger new-home sales in the months ahead. Last October, the median price reached $496,800, the highest in recorded history dating back to 1963. But since April, this year’s home prices have remained consistently lower than prices in corresponding months during 2022.
However, while home prices are decelerating, new-home sales are inching ever-higher ahead of the fall months. Around 59,000 new-home sales were reported in July, which is 34.1% more than during the same month in 2022.
In an effort to keep sales coming, some homebuilders are building smaller, more affordable homes, although some are skeptical that will overcome the headwinds of high mortgage rates.
However, new home sales are helped by even tighter inventories of existing homes, as recent mortgage application data show, and by a sticky housing shortage.
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