Whether you’re buying a new home or not, the pace of new home sales matters to you and your home search. That’s because, how quickly new homes are selling affects how quickly more new homes are built. And, at a time when housing supply lags behind buyer demand, more new homes is the best way to balance the market and keep prices from spiking higher. The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development releases a monthly report that tracks how many new homes were sold in the previous month. According to their most recent release, the number of new homes sold in September was 3.5 percent lower than the month before. But, despite the decline, new home sales are still 32.1 percent higher than they were at the same time last year. That’s good news for home builders, which means it’s also good news for prospective buyers. Also in the report, the median sales price of new houses sold in September was $326,800. The average sales price was $405,400. (source)
