Sales of newly built, single-family homes rose 3.6 percent in December, according to new numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The improvement pushed new home sales 6.7 percent higher than they were one year earlier and comes after an upward revision of November’s results. In other words, the new home market continues to make gains despite the seasonal patterns, elevated mortgage rates, and higher home prices which should be suppressing sales. That’s good news for buyers, as a strong new home market can help alleviate some of the challenges currently plaguing the market for existing homes. How? Well, when Americans are buying new homes, builders build more, which helps the overall supply of available homes for sale. That provides choices for buyers, which reduces buyer competition, bidding wars, and price increases for homes both old and new. (source)
