Elevated mortgage rates continue to keep buyers on hold, as new home sales remained relatively flat in June.
Sales of newly built, single-family homes in June fell 0.6% to a 617,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate from a slight upwardly revised reading in May, according to newly released data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. The pace of new home sales in June is down 7.4% from a year earlier and is the lowest pace since November 2023.
“Many potential buyers are remaining in a holding pattern due to elevated mortgage rates that averaged near 7% in June,” said Carl Harris, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a custom home builder from Wichita, Kan. “However, moderating inflation suggests lower interest rates in the months ahead and that should bring more buyers off the sidelines.”
