But January’s sales figures fell by less year-over-year than December’s
.jpg)
For the fifth month in a row, sales of new single-family homes declined in January.
Redfin reported an 8% decline year-over-year but noted that the drop was smaller than that of the previous month (12.6%), giving homebuilders some positivity.
"The shrinking size of sales declines, paired with falling interest rates, may be helping to improve builder confidence, which has been on the rise since December," said Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin.
All four major regions posted declines in new home sales and the overall nationwide decline is in line with a fall existing sales. Month-over-month though the decline was lower with a 0.2% fall for new home sales against a 1.2% drop for existing sales.
New-Home Sales Data from Redfin (January 2019)
|
Region |
Median Sale |
YoY Change - |
YoY Change - |
Months of |
|
Midwest |
$343,160 |
4% |
8.3% |
10.6 |
|
Northeast |
$479,950 |
6.8% |
-1.9% |
11.7 |
|
South |
$291,000 |
0.3% |
-1.2% |
8.1 |
|
West |
$435,120 |
1.4% |
0.7% |
6.9 |
|
National |
$339,000 |
1.2% |
0.2% |
8.3 |
Prices could be a challenge though for the new homes market with the national median rising 1.2% year-over-year to £339,000 in January. Although the existing homes median price rose 2.8% year-over-year to $257,400, it was the smallest rise since February 2012.
"Buyers understand that the market is shifting in their favor and have become more sensitive to high home prices. That added sensitivity could continue to put a damper on the sales of new homes, which tend to be more expensive than comparable existing ones."
