• There were 670,000 new home sales nationwide in January (SAAR), up 7.2% from December and down 19.4% from January 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
• The median sales price of new houses sold in January was $427,500.
• The seasonally-adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of January was 439,000, a supply of 7.9 months at the current sales rate.

The backlog of new construction homes continues to emerge into the market just in time for the spring shopping season. Many home builders are offering incentives to buyers, sweetening the deal just enough to bump sales from the month prior. Mortgage rates ticked down across January opening the door to some buyers who had been shut out by affordability constraints. But a low flow of new listings from existing homes left buyers wanting for more, and new construction was able to step in and help fill the gap slightly. Sales are still far below levels seen a year ago, but this market is settling into what could be the new normal, one with a slower pace than seen during the pandemic and with fewer homes on the market and fewer transactions largely led by the affordability crunch. This is keeping many would-be buyers and sellers on the sidelines. There is still a large chunk of new construction homes under construction, and when those homes hit the market, especially over the next few months, we will see spring home buyers – those who can afford the higher new construction price tags – having more options and opportunities to break into homeownership.