New home sales rose to 724,000 in March from 674,000 a month prior. That was about 40,000 more than forecast. Likely helping was the drop in mortgage rates in March. But that has proven short-lived as rates have risen since. Supply is also climbing, advises Peter Boockvar, editor of The Boock Report.
A jump in sales in the South drove the month-over-month regional gain. Months’ supply of homes fell to 8.3 from 8.9 with the transaction increase. But the absolute number of homes for sale rose to 503,000, the highest since 2007.
New Homes for Sale
Due to mix, the year-over-year home price fell by 7.5%. There was a lift in sales in the number of homes priced below $500,000.
I’m going to leave the bottom line to the CEO of PulteGroup Inc. (PHM) because what was seen in March in terms of activity has faltered so far in April. His remarks: “Buyer interest and activity in the first quarter were directionally in line with our planning expectations heading into the period. As we've moved from March to April, however, we have seen consumers at all price points impacted by changing macro conditions and any resulting decline in overall consumer confidence.”
