Today’s June new home sales data is undoubtedly good news for the market, with sales reaching their highest level since February 2008, and a sign builders are getting back in the game. Despite these higher levels of new homes sales, we need even more new construction to move the needle on current inventory shortages, especially among entry-level homes. This pick-up in new construction, though, will hopefully help ease critically low inventory of homes for sale overall and give buyers at least modestly more choices. The seasonally adjusted price of new homes has also been more or less flat over the past six months, another sign builders are broadening their efforts and focusing a bit more on the lower and middle tiers of the market. Looking ahead, this new home sales momentum should continue, with the strong starts and permits activity we’re seeing today filtering into closed sales in coming months.