New home sales ascended in April, rising to 454,000 homes sold. New single-family home sales inched up 2.3% in April, above the revised March rate of 444,000.
April sales are up a dramatic 20% from the year-ago estimate of 352,000, according to data from the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Analysts at Econoday noted that sales are rising in the new home market despite limited supply, a mix that’s driving prices sharply higher.
“Price readings are skyrocketing, up 8.3% in April alone for the median price to $271,600. The average price, at $330,800, is up 15.4% in the month,” the analysts said.
They added, “These readings, which are not based on repeat transactions, can be volatile but the year-on-year gain, at 14.9% for both the median and the average, is very convincing and mirrors gains in yesterday’s existing home sales report.”
The median sales price of new homes sold in April picked up from $247,000 to $271,600 in the most recent month. April’s average sale price was $330,800.
At the end of April, the number of new homes for sale rose to 156,000 units, compared to 153,000 units in March. This represents a 4.1-month supply of homes at today’s sales pace, down from March.
“Home price appreciation was billed as perhaps this year’s big economic story, a story that appears to be playing out and that points to rising confidence and spending among homeowners,” according to Econoday.
