ARLINGTON, Va.—November's new-home sales were 16.9% higher than the same month during 2018 after increasing 1.3% during the month to 733,000 units.
NAFCU Research Assistant Nadir Tekarli noted strong gains in the Northeast and West made up for falling sales in the South.
"The tight market is putting upward pressure on prices, which saw the median sales price rise 4.4% and the average sales price rise 5.7% since November 2018," Tekarli added in a NAFCU Macro Data Flashreport. "As the upward pressure on prices continues, the share of homes sold for under $300,000 has fallen from 45% in October to 40% in November.
"In addition, the backlog of construction has increased from 27.6% of sales in October to 29.1%. While supply remains tight, NAFCU expects the good times to continue into 2020," he concluded.
The median new home price, non-seasonally adjusted, increased from $316,900 in October to $330,800 in November, a 7.2% increase from a year ago.
Northeast Leads the Way
Sales in the Northeast grew 52.4% during the month, following by the West (+7.5%). Sales in the South fell 4.1% in November, while sales in the Midwest were flat.
Based on current month sales, there were 5.4 months of supply in November, down slightly from October. The number of unsold homes left on the market was unchanged from October at 323,000 units; this represents a 3.3% reduction from last year's inventory levels, Tekarli said.