Following yesterday’s rebound in existing home sales, new home sales followed the same path, jumping 4.0% MoM in March (more than double the 1.9% rise expected) to 4-month highs, from 667K annualized, to 694K, the highest since November.
Notably February’s -0.6% drop was revised dramatically higher to a 3.6% rise, making March’s 4.0% surge even more impressive…
Still, the geographic breakdown leads to some questions, because while most regions were flat or sharply lower, it was only new home sales in the West that rebounded sharply higher in March from February:
- Northeast: -54.8%
- Midwest: -2.4%
- South: 0.8%
- West: 28.3%
Meanwhile, the median new home sales price increased 4.8% YoY to $337,200 – just shy of its record high…
As Bloomberg notes, the March advance and revisions to the previous two months indicate sales were on better footing during the quarter, a sign that elevated prices and mortgage rates at a four-year high are having minimal impact on demand so far.
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