Single-family home sales slipped in April, according to data released by the federal government this week, continuing a somewhat slow-down trend overall.
The US Census Bureau and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) reported that sales of new single‐family houses in April 2022 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 591,000, 16.6 percent below the revised March rate of 709,000 and 26.9 percent below the April 2021 estimate of 809,000.
Days earlier, Redfin reported slowing as well, suggesting that the housing market turned a corner in April as the inventory crunch showed signs of easing.
GlobeSt reported that the real estate brokerage Redfin revealed a 9% year-over-year decline in homes for sale—the smallest since March 2020 and the first single-digit drop since the pandemic began.
Builder Confidence Waning: NAHB
In turn, the National Association of Home Builders reported last week that a perfect storm of negative circumstances combined to slam home builder confidence in May.
Affordability challenges for buyers are growing thanks to rapidly rising interest rates, double-digit price increases for material costs and ongoing home price appreciation.
Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes fell eight points to 69 in May, marking the fifth straight month that builder sentiment has declined and the lowest reading since June 2020.
A Nine-Month Supply of Homes
HUD and the Census Bureau also reported this week that the median sales price of new houses sold in April 2022 was $450,600.
The average sales price was $570,300 and the seasonally‐adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of April was 444,000, representing a nine-month supply at the current sales rate.