Led by the West, new home sales soared to the highest rate in more than a decade. But the supply of new homes for sales has fallen to the lowest level in 16 months.
Homebuyers purchased 52,000 new homes during November, according to data jointly reported Friday by the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
That brought
the number of new single-family residential sales that were completed from Jan. 1 to Nov. 30 of this year to 570,000.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, the annual rate of home sales
last month was 733,000 — the highest rate of new home sales since July 2007. The rate was 624,000 in October 2017 and 579,000 in November 2016.
National Association of Home Builders Chief Economist Robert Dietz is optimistic about future new home sales.
“Tax reform legislation should boost economic growth, setting the stage for continued strengthening of the housing market,” Dietz said in a written statement. “Job market growth, expected wage increases and tight existing home inventory will also help the market move forward next year.”
The seasonally adjusted annual rate in the West was 194,000 during November 2017, surging from the previous month by 31 percent — more than any other region. The rate climbed 15 percent to 416,000 in the South, while it was up
a 10th in the Northeast to 46,000, and 7 percent higher in the Midwest to 77,000.
Last month concluded with a seasonally adjusted 283,000 new U.S. homes for sales. That represented a 4.6-month supply — the shortest supply since July 2016’s 4.5 months.
The average sales price last month was $377,100, while the median price was $318,700.
