New Home Sales Rose in March

 New Home Sales climbed again in March, making it the fourth month in a row. Those in the industry say that this is due to the ease in mortgage rates and the low inventory of existing homes. Buyers are now looking at new construction more than ever.

According to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and the US Census Bureau, there was a 9.6% rise in new construction home sales from February to March. This could be a good sign that the housing market is starting to stabilize. Sales of new single-family homes in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 683,000 which is still down from a year ago at 707,000. New home sales rose from $438,200 in February to $449,800 in March.

“Buyers have begun to adjust to the elevated mortgage rate levels, especially in areas where home prices have adjusted downwards to compensate. Despite signs of economic uncertainty in March, which included news of bank failures, buyers are still showing demand for new homes,” said Kelly Mangold of RCLCO Real Estate Consulting.

“Demographic drivers remain strong as more households move into family years, and remote hybrid work continue to have a foothold in many industries, driving buyers to seek space for extra bedrooms and/or office space in their homes,” says Mangold.

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FEBRUARY 2021 SEES A GAIN IN SINGLE-FAMILY PERMITS

 

The first two months of 2021 not only saw a strong housing market but 164,901 single-family permits issued year-to-date (YTD). The report shows that there is a 16.6% increase over February 2020.

Permits for residential single-family and multi-family 12 months change February 2021 year-to-date is different throughout each U.S. region. Single-family permits and multi-family permits increased in all four regions in February. For single-family Midwest had an increase of 24%, in the Northeast a 20.1% increase, the South had a 16.2% increase and the West came in last with a 13.6% increase. Multi-family saw the biggest increase in the West at 22%, next the South with an 18.4% increase, Northeast at 17.5% and the Midwest saw the lowest at only a 5.4% increase.

The District of Columbia saw the biggest increase in single-family permits issued YTD from February 2020 to February 2021 at 308.3%. Vermont saw a decline in single-family permits of 17.7%. The ten states that issued the highest number of single-family permits accounted for 63.8% of the total. Forty-four states and the District of Columbia had an increase in single-family permits between February 2020 YTD and February 2021 YTD.

Multi-family permits issued across the country in February 2021 YTD reached 83,110 which was 17.7% more than the reported 70,635 in February 2020. Thirty-six states and the District of Columbia had an increase while 14 states had a decline. The highest increase was seen in New Mexico with a 714.3% increase and Nebraska saw a huge decline of 66.9%. The ten states that had the highest number issued accounted for 66.4% of the total.

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