by Calculated Risk on 5/27/2020 02:59:00 PM

As part of the new home sales report released yesterday, the Census Bureau reported the number of homes sold by price and the average and median prices.

From the Census Bureau: "The median sales price of new houses sold in April 2020 was $309,900. The average sales price was $364,500."

The following graph shows the median and average new home prices.

Click on graph for larger image.

During the housing bust, the builders had to build smaller and less expensive homes to compete with all the distressed sales.  When housing started to recovery - with limited finished lots in recovering areas - builders moved to higher price points to maximize profits.

The average price in April 2020 was $364,500, down 3.4% from March, and down 9.5% from the peak in 2017.  The median price was $309,900, down 5.2% from March, and down 9.8% from the peak in 2017.

The average and median house prices are down from 2017 since home builders are offering more lower priced homes.

The second graph shows the percent of new homes sold by price.

Very few new homes sold were under $150K in April 2020.  This is down from 30% in 2002.  In general, the under $150K bracket is going away.   

The $400K+ bracket increased significantly since the housing recovery started, but has been holding steady recently - and declined over the last couple of months.  A majority of new homes (about 59%) in the U.S., are in the $200K to $400K range.