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The median price for a new single-family home reached a record high in May of $345,800, the Commerce Department reports. Buyers will be paying a huge premium for new construction, as new-home prices are now 16.8 percent higher than they were a year ago.<\/p>\n
So far, however, the higher price tags don\u2019t seem to be spooking home shoppers. In May, 61,000 new homes were purchased\u2014a 2.9 percent increase from April and an 8.9 percent increase from a year ago, the Commerce Department reports. \u201cBuilders are focused on the mid to upper end of the housing<\/a> market,\u201d says Joseph Kirchner, realtor<\/a>.com\u00ae\u2019s senior economist. \u201cIt means that it will be more difficult to find more affordable homes for first-time buyers, millennials, and low-income people.\u201d<\/p>\n Only 6,000 newly constructed homes sold in May were priced between $150,000 and $199,999. Further, there were about 14,000 sales in the $200,000 to $299,999 range. New homes now cost about 36.8 percent more than previously existing homes, which also reached record-high prices in May.\u00a0<\/p>\n Regionally, new-home sales increased the most in the West last month, posting a 13.3 percent month-over-month jump, followed by a 6.2 percent increase in the South. New-home sales, meanwhile, fell 10.8 percent in the Northeast and plunged 25.7 percent month-over-month in the Midwest. \u00a0<\/p>\n Source: National Association of Home Builders and \u201cNew Homes Just Keep Getting Pricier, But Buyers Keep Coming,\u201d realtor.com\u00ae (June 23, 2017)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n [ad_2]
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Realtors.org <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"