by Calculated Risk on 4/26/2022 12:16:00 PM

Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: March New Home Sales: Little Completed Inventory, High Number of Homes Under Construction

Brief excerpt:

The next graph shows new home sales for 2021 and 2022 by month (Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate). Sales in March 2022 were down 12.6% from March 2021.

The year-over-year comparisons will be easier going forward.
...
And on prices, from the Census Bureau:

The median sales price of new houses sold in March 2022 was $436,700.  The average sales price was $523,900.

 The following graph shows the median and average new home prices. Overall home prices are up sharply year-over-year.

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.

Then the average and median house prices mostly moved sideways since 2017 due to home builders offering more lower priced homes.  Prices really picked up during the pandemic.

The average price in March 2022 was $523,900 up 26% year-over-year.  The median price was $436,700, up 21% year-over-year.  

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