The U.S. Commerce Department reported on Friday that the sales of new
single-family homes plunged 12.2 per cent m-o-m to a seasonally adjusted annual
rate of 590,000 units in November. This represented the lowest reading since November
2022 (582,000).
Economists had forecast a sales pace of 685,000 last month.
The October sales pace was revised down to 672,000 units from the
initially reported 679,000 units.
According to the report, new home sales in the South, the largest area, plummeted
by 20.9 per cent m-o-m in November to 337,000. In addition, new home sales fell by 5.1 per cent m-o-m to 150,000
in the West. These declines, however, were partly offset by a 25.0 per cent
m-o-m climb in new home sales in the Midwest to 70,000, and a 3.1 per cent m-o-m increase in the Northeast
to 33,000.
Compared to November 2022, new home sales rose by 1.4 per cent.
The report also revealed that the median sales price decreased by 6.0
per cent y-o-y to $434,700 in November, while the average sales price dropped
by 7.3 per cent y-o-y to $488,900.