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Why new home sales are disappointing, despite beating estimates

Housing Wire

Todays new home sales report beat market expectations, just like last weeks existing home sales report. From Census : New Home Sales : Sales of new single-family houses in December 2024 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 698,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. percent (19.7

Sales 477
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Homebuyers turn to aging properties as construction lags

Housing Wire

The trend reflects a long-term slowdown in new home construction and growing affordability challenges. Without more construction, buyers are forced to choose from a pool of aging properties that present a new set of financial challenges, especially for those trying to save enough money to climb onto the property ladder.

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New-home sales beat estimates but need a dose of reality

Housing Wire

With new-home sales growing since 2022, why are housing starts at recessionary levels? We had no growth in residential construction work hiring earlier in the year when rates were higher. I recently raised this concern about housing construction and new home sales in an interview on CNBC.

Sales 471
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New-home sales hit highest level since 2021

Housing Wire

New home sales continue to be a bright spot in a dismal housing market. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development shows new-home sales registering at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 698,000, good for a 6.7% Even better, new home sales for the calendar year 2024 are estimated at 683,000, which is 2.5%

Sales 455
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Here are the cities that lead the nation in new-home construction

Housing Wire

New-home sales have been a bright spot in housing markets across the country that have been struggling for years with high mortgage rates and low inventory. But the benefits of newly built homes are spread unevenly, as markets in the South tend to have more construction than other regions. That could be a driver of building permits.

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Southern construction boom is aiding housing affordability

Housing Wire

But increased activity in residential construction , particularly in the South, is helping to alleviate affordability challenges in certain regions, according to ananalysis from First American Financial Corp. This construction boom is contributing to slower home-price appreciation and, in some cases, price declines. Census Bureau data.

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First American: Home sales are weaker than they seem

Housing Wire

If we look at existing-home sales as a percentage of the total number of households over time, we see that sales are down to the same levels as the early 1990s, just above 3%, and well below the long-run average of 4.1%, he said. million sales, where did more than a million sales go? So compared to the current pace of 4.26

Sales 351