Sales of new homes fell by 3.5% in September to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 959,000 million units, the Commerce Department said today, as the housing market’s summer buying season came to a close. The Commerce Department said that despite the modest decrease, sales of new homes are up 32.1% from a year earlier, as the housing market remains strong despite the pandemic.
The housing market, like most of the economy, came to a near standstill in March and in April, causing the typical spring summer buying season to be delayed until the summer. Once economies reopened, pent up demand translated into sales of both new and existing homes, driving home prices in many places to record highs. In July, home sales spiked 13.9%. New home sales for August were revised downward to 994,000 from a previously reported 1.01 million units. The median price of a new home sold was $326,800, according to the Commerce Department.