WASHINGTON—Data from the Census Bureau shows that new home sales increased 4.9% from January's upwardly revised 636,000 annualized units to 667,000 units in February.
NAFCU Chief Economist and Vice President of Research Curt Long attributed the growth to declining mortgage rates.
"According to the Census Bureau, new home sales rose in February to their highest level since March 2018," said Long. "For the second straight month, there were sizable revisions to data that spanned the government shutdown. December sales were revised downward by 64,000 units, while January's were revised upward by 29,000 units. These latest figures suggest that new home sales have been rising steadily since October, no doubt aided by declining mortgage rates over that time."
Sales rose in three of the four regions in February. Sales in the Midwest increased 28.3%, followed by gains in the Northeast (+26.9%) and the South (+1.8%). Sales in the West region were unchanged from the prior month.
Based on current month sales, there were 6.1 months of supply in February, down from 6.5 months in January. The number of unsold homes left on the market fell from 342,000 to 340,000 units. This represents a 13.3% increase from a year ago, Long said.