• There were 632,000 new home sales nationwide in October (SAAR), up 7.5% from the revised September rate of 588,000. However, new home sales are down 5.8% from October 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
• The median sales price of new houses sold in October was $493,000 – up 15.4% from October 2021.
• The seasonally-adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of October was 470,000, a supply of 8.9 months at the current sales rate.

A record high number of new units under construction – the largest in more than 14 years –  is slowly finding its way on the market,  yet months’ supply – the number of months it would take to sell today’s inventory at the current sales pace – actually fell in October. This suggests that many buyers may still be waiting off the sidelines.

Still, affordability is the biggest challenge facing the housing market today. Although demand has fallen when compared to a year ago, many buyers are waiting in the wings for either a downward price adjustment or for mortgage rates to fall. With existing homeowners sitting out this market as well, newly built homes have been making up a growing share of housing supply. An increase in for-sale inventory from new construction is still needed in order to stabilize prices and improve affordability in the long run. Unfortunately, falling builder sentiment indicates that it might be a while before home builders are able to deliver.