Sales of new single-family houses in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 607,000, according to estimates from the US Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 10.5% below the June rate of 678,000 and is 6.3% below the July 2025 rate of 648,000.
The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of July was 488,000. This is 1.9% above the June estimate of 479,000 but 1.6% below the July 2025 estimate of 496,000. This represents a supply of 9.6 months at the current sales rate. The months’ supply is 12.9% above the June estimate of 8.5 months and 4.3% above the July 2025 estimate of 9.2 months.
The median sales price of new houses sold last month was $393,800. This is 2.3% below the June price of $403,100 and 0.9% below the July 2025 price of $397,300.
The average sales price of new houses sold in July was $508,800. This is 4.1% above the June price of $488,900 and 5.4% above the July 2025 price of $482,800.
“The single-family home building market is on track for a second consecutive annual decline in 2026,” warned National Association of Home Builders Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “New home sales are down more than 4% on a year-to-date basis. NAHB research and economic data show community builders continue to outperform the broader market, while the Northeast remains a relative bright spot, with new home sales up nearly 9% year-to-date.”
Sam Williamson, senior economist at First American, added, “Builders are not just cutting prices. They are changing what they sell. In July, 53% of new-home sales were below $400,000, up from 50% a year earlier. Some of that shift reflects builder discounts, but product mix is also playing an important role as builders construct and sell smaller, lower-priced homes that better fit today’s budgets. These shifts helped pull the median new-home price to $393,800, its lowest level in five years. More notably, new homes remained cheaper than existing homes for a fifth straight month, despite usually selling for more. The gap reached $40,300, the widest in data going back to 1999. Those shifts are helping keep the market moving, while the existing-home side remains sluggish.”
0 Comments