WASHINGTON (AP) – Aug. 23, 2016 – Americans stepped up their purchases of new homes in July to the fastest pace in nearly nine years, as low mortgage rates and a steady job market are fueling a real estate surge.
New-home sales jumped 12.4 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted rate of 654,000 annual units, the strongest level since October 2007, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. The demand has eclipsed the pace of construction. Just 4.3 months’ supply of new homes is available on the market, down from 5.2 months a year ago.
Construction of single-family houses has picked up this year, as the housing market continues to recover from the drop-off caused by the Great Recession and sub-prime mortgages. Sales in July roughly matched the historic pace of 650,000 new homes selling each year, as the 4.9 percent unemployment rate, mortgage rates hovering near all-time lows and recovering economy have pulled more buyers to new developments and properties.
“We see tremendous growth potential in new home sales as housing demand continues to grow and with the continued supply shortage of newer vintage homes,” said Tian Liu, chief economist at Genworth Mortgage Insurance.
Purchases shot up 40 percent in the Northeast and 18.1 percent in the South last month. They increased slightly in the Midwest and stayed unchanged in the West.
July’s median sales price dipped 0.5 percent from a year ago to $294,600, a possible reflection of the regional sales mix.
New-home sales have climbed 12.4 percent so far this year to 352,000.
Builders are increasing construction but still running behind demand. Groundbreakings for houses have climbed 10.6 percent year-to-date, the government reported last week. This marks a sharp reversal from prior years in the recovery from the Great Recession when a large share of the increase in residential construction came from apartments.
Optimism abounds for many builders as well. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index for August rose two points to 60 following a downwardly revised reading of 58 in July. Readings above 50 indicate more builders view sales conditions as good rather than poor.
Low mortgage rates are feeding much of this confidence. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 3.43 percent last week from 3.98 percent a year ago.
Copyright © 2016 The Associated Press, Josh Boak. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.