The U.S. Commerce Department announced on Tuesday that the sales of new
single-family homes surged 9.6 percent m-o-m to a seasonally adjusted annual
rate of 683,000 units in March. That was the
highest reading since March 2022 (707,000).
Economists had forecast a sales pace of 630,000 last month.
The February sales’ pace was revised down to 623,000 units from the
initially reported 640,000 units.
According to the report, new home sales in the South, the largest area, declined
by 5.4 percent m-o-m in March. This decrease, however, was more
than offset by a 170.8 percent m-o-m climb in new home sales in the Northeast,
a 29.8 percent m-o-m increase in the West, and
a 6.0 percent m-o-m advance in the Midwest.
In y-o-y terms, new home sales fell 3.4 percent in March.
The report also showed that the median sales price rose by 3.2 percent
y-o-y to $449,800, while the average sales price jumped by 9.9 percent y-o-y to
$562,400.