The U.S.
Commerce Department reported on Tuesday that the sales of new single-family
homes jumped 8.8 per cent m-o-m to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 693,000
units in March. This represented the highest
reading since September 2023 (698,000).
Economists
had forecast a sales pace of 668,000 last month.
The February sales
pace was revised down to 637,000 units from the originally reported 662,000
units.
According to
the report, new home sales in the South, the largest area, surged by 7.7 per
cent m-o-m in March to 391,000. In addition, new home sales in the Northeast soared by 27.8
per cent m-o-m to 46,000, in the West increased by 8.6 per cent m-o-m to 177,000,
and in the Midwest rose by 5.3 per cent m-o-m to 79,000.
Compared to March
2023, new home sales were up 8.3 per cent.
The report also
revealed that the median sales price decreased by 2.1 per cent y-o-y to $430,700
in March, while the average sales price advanced by 1.0 per cent y-o-y to $524,800.