New home sales rebound in December

New home sales rebounded at the end of 2020.

Sales of new single-family houses in December 2020 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 842,000, rising 1.6% above the revised November rate of 829,000, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development reported today.

The November report showed an 11% drop in new single-family home sales.

The latest Monthly New Residential Sales report is also 15.2% percent above the December 2019 estimate of 731,000. 

An estimated 811,000 new homes were sold in 2020. This is 18.8 % above the 2019 figure of 683,000

The median sales price of new houses sold in December was $355,900, rising 3.5% from the November median price of $343,900. The average sales price inched upward by 0.43% to a cost of $394,900.

The seasonally-adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of December was 302,000, representing a supply of 4.3-month supply at the current sales rate and up slightly from a 4.2-month supply in November.

Here’s how December 2020 new home sales break down by region:

• In the Northeast, new home sales declined 6.1% in December and decreased 20.5% on a year-over-year basis compared to December 2019.
• In the Midwest, sales jumped 30.6% in December and rose 13.3% above December 2019.
• Sales in the South fell 5.1% in December but increased 21.7% from December 2019.
• In the West, sales climbed 8.8% in December and rose 10.4% compared to December 2019.

The latest Monthly New Residential Sales report for December 2020 is available here.