The U.S.
Commerce Department reported on Thursday that the sales of new single-family
homes jumped 4.1 per cent m-o-m to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 738,000
units in September. This marked the highest reading since May 2023 (741,000).
Economists
had foreseen a sales pace of 720,000 last month.
The August sales
pace was revised down to 709,000 units from the originally reported 716,000
units.
According to
the report, new home sales in the South, the largest area, surged by 5.8 per
cent m-o-m in September to 477,000. In addition, new home sales in the Northeast climbed by
21.7 per cent m-o-m to 28,000. Meanwhile, new home sales in the Midwest decreased
by 2.5 per cent m-o-m to 77,000 and those in the West remained unchanged at
156,000.
Compared to September
2023, new home sales increased 6.3 per cent.
The report also
revealed that the median sales price was flat y-o-y at $426,300 in September, while the average sales
price decreased by 2.7 per cent y-o-y to $501,000.