By NAHB
A modest decline in mortgage rates and lean existing inventory helped boost new home sales in March even as builders and consumers contend with uncertain market conditions.
Sales of newly built, single-family homes in March increased 7.4% to a 724,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate from a revised January number, 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 March was up 6.0% compared to a year earlier.
“The March new home sales data shows that demand continues to be present in the market, provided affordability conditions permit a purchase,” said Buddy Hughes, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder and developer from Lexington, N.C. “An increase in economic certainty would be a big boost to future sales conditions.”
“Lower mortgage interest rates helped boost the pace of new home sales in March,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “In February, the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage was 6.84%, while in March it fell to 6.65%.”
