August 2018 New Home Sales

Sales of new homes rose in August 2018 according to the Census Bureau.  On an annualized basis, transactions reached 629,000 units, up 3.5 percent compared to July which was revised lower to 608,000 from 627,000.  Despite a couple of week months, the level of sales is 12.7 percent higher from a year ago. 

Regional data were mixed but mostly higher.  Midwest transactions rose 2,000 units to 77,000.  Sales out West reached 168,000 versus 154,000 in July.  Northeast deals were 11,000 more than a month earlier, hitting 34,000 in August.  Finally, the South was the lone region to decline.  However, it is also the largest region, so its direction tends to have more influence than the others on the total.  Southern volume declined 6,000 to 350,000 new homes sold. 

Prices did not have an upward bias in the middle of summer.  The median price of a home declined 2.4 percent to $320,200.  Likewise, the average home price fell, but its drop was much subtler, reaching $388,400 which is $600 less than in July. 

Supply improved for a 5^th consecutive month.  An additional 12,000 units came to the market, putting the seasonally adjusted inventory level at 325,000, a gain of nearly four percent.  At the current pace of sales, this represents 6.5 months of supply, up from 6.1 months in July.

Housing seems to be slowing.  New housing data is well off its cycle high, and the larger existing homes market has not been as robust recently either. However, this doesn’t mean the uptrend is over; it could be a temporary pause.  We won’t know for a while because market tops can only be spotted after the fact, but Atlas will keep you updated as new information is revealed.