The median sales price of a newly built home in July surged more than 6 percent compared to a year ago. The median sales price was $313,700 for a new home, a record price for any July on record. For comparison, the median existing-home sales price was $258,300 in July, according to the National Association of REALTORS\u00ae.<\/p>\n The price premium for a newly built home compared to a similar existing home has more than doubled since 2011, according to data from John Burns Real Estate<\/a> Consulting.<\/p>\n \u201cLong term, the new home median price has been mostly 10 percent to 20 percent above the existing home median since 1990,\u201d noted John Burns in a recent report to clients. \u201cSince 2011, however, new home prices have been at a 35 percent to 40 percent premium over resale prices. While the exact percentages aren\u2019t perfect due to \u2018apples and oranges\u2019\u00a0comparisons, our consultants have been confirming for years that new-home sales have been slowed by larger than usual new-home premiums.\u201d<\/p>\n Buyer demand remains high in the lower end of the market, but that is where supply in the new-home market is the weakest, economists note.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere is still no pickup in sales for homes priced below $300,000, and this is where most of the first time households would be shopping in,\u201d\u00a0Peter Boockvar, chief market analyst at The Lindsey Group, noted following the U.S. Census Bureau\u2019s new-home sales report release. \u201cThe housing industry needs a moderation in home price<\/a> gains in order to better compete with renting where rent increases are now moderating.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, the builder\u2019s trade group says that home builders remain optimistic about rebounds in sales in the coming months. The National Association of Home Builders is also\u00a0<\/span>quick to note that new-home sales in July were still 9.2 percent higher than the same period last year, despite the month-over-month decrease.<\/p>\n \u201cThe year-to-date growth shows that new-home sales continue to trend upward at a steady pace over the longer term,\u201d says Michael Neal, senior economist at the National Association of Home Builders. \u201cSteady economic growth and a healthier labor market suggest that the underlying economic fundamentals remain in place for a continued recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n The inventory of new homes was 276,000 in July, a 5.8-month supply at the current sales pace.<\/p>\n Across the country, new-home sales only posted an increase last month in the Midwest, rising 6.2 percent month over month. Meanwhile, new-home sales slipped 23.8 percent in the Northeast, 21.3 percent in the West, and by 4.1 percent in the South.\u00a0<\/p>\n Source: National Association of Home Builders and \u201cHere\u2019s Why New Home Sales Tanked,\u201d CNBC (Aug. 23, 2017)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Realtors.org <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/realtormag.realtor.org\/sites\/realtormag.realtor.org\/files\/rmo_files\/images\/2017_aug\/regional_nhs_jul17.png\")
The prices of newly built homes are rapidly rising, which\u00a0<\/span>may have\u00a0caused\u00a0<\/span>the plunge<\/span>\u00a0in new-home sales last month, CNBC reports.\u00a0<\/span>Sales of newly built single-family homes tumbled 9.4 percent month over month in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 571,000 units, the U.S. Department of Housing<\/a> and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau reported Wednesday. This is the lowest reading for new-home sales since December 2016.<\/p>\n