WASHINGTON —Sales of newly built, single-family homes in June inched up 0.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 610,000 units from a downwardly revised May reading, according to newly released data by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau.
“Although we saw modest gains this month, new home sales have risen nearly 11% since the start of 2017,” said Granger MacDonald, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder and developer from Kerrville, Texas. “Our members remain optimistic as the single-family housing market continues to recover.”
“The month’s sales report is consistent with our forecast, and we should see further gains throughout the year as the labor market continues to strengthen,” said NAHB Senior Economist Michael Neal. “While new home inventory rose slightly in June, it remains tight as builders face lot and labor shortages and increases in building material costs.”
The inventory of new homes for sale was 272,000 in June, which is a 5.4-month supply at the current sales pace.
Regionally, new home sales increased 12.5% in the West and 10% in the Midwest. Sales were unchanged in the Northeast and fell 6.1% in the South.
Source: NAHB