• There were 683,000 new single-family home sales nationwide in April (SAAR), up 4.1% from March and up 11.8% from April 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
• The median sales price of new houses sold in April was $420,800.
• The seasonally-adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of April was 433,000, a supply of 7.6 months at the current sales rate.

What happened: New home sales increased in April, up both from one month ago and one year ago. 

Why it matters: In a housing market where existing inventory is tight and affordability challenges are lurking around every corner, many prospective home buyers are happy to see more new construction homes entering the market. 

What Zillow Senior Economist Nicole Bachaud thinks: Home builders are fitting nicely into this spring housing season that is starved for new inventory. Home buyers are hungry for anything they can afford, and home builders are happy to meet them where they are. The backlog of new construction homes started in the last year or so is making its way online and the majority of builders and projects are offering some incentives to offset affordability constraints. This is helping to bump up new home sales at a time when existing home sales are sliding. This boost in new home sales is likely contributing to the increase in builder sentiment seen in May with more home builders optimistic about the future. Hopefully this momentum continues and more new construction will pour into the market throughout the rest of this year to help rebalance supply and ease affordability pressures.