The Housing Market Update

New Home Sales Hit 10 Year High, Average Sales Price above $400K for First Time Ever:

The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development reported that New Home Sales for October hit a 10  year high with 685K units which beat out expectations of 620K.  This was a 6.2% monthly gain over September.

Sales Price
The median sales price of new houses sold in October 2017 was $312,800. The average sales price was $400,200 which is the first time on record that the average sales prices topped $400,000.

Inventory and Months’ Supply
The seasonally-adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of October was 282,000. This represents a supply of 4.9 months at the current sales rate.

The Northeast is the standout sales region for the second month - up 30 percent to 56,000. Year-on-year sales in the Northeast are up 65 percent. The Midwest also was strong, up 18 percent in October for a yearly gain of 16.2 percent.  These are very strong metrics as it shows strong sales were not due a temporary demand spike related to the hurricanes in the South.

The biggest contributor in size to the month's sales is the West, up 6.4 percent to 167,000 for a yearly 14.0 percent gain. The South, which did not show any effect from the heavy hurricane season, rose 1.3 percent in October for a year-on-year increase of 14.0 percent.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau