Sales of New Single-Family Houses Are Up While Building Permits Are Not

The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly announced the following new residential sales statistics for April 2023:

  • Sales of new single‐family houses in April 2023 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 683,000.
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  • This is 4.1% above the revised March rate of 656,000.
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  • This is 11.8% above the April 2022 estimate of 611,000.
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  • The median sales price of new houses sold in April 2023 was $420,800.
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  • The average sales price was $501,000.
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  • This represents a supply of 7.6 months at the current sales rate.
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Residential Construction

Today’s release is on the heels of the following new residential construction statistics for April 2023:

Building Permits

  • Privately‐owned housing units authorized by building permits in April were at an annual rate of 1,416,000.
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  • This is 1.5% below March and is 21.1% below the April 2022 rate.
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  • Single‐family authorizations in April were at a rate of 855,000. This is 3.1% above the March figure.

Housing Starts

  • Privately‐owned housing starts in April were at an annual rate of 1,401,000. This is 2.2% above March but is 22.3% below the April 2022 rate.
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  • Single‐family housing starts in April were at a rate of 846,000. This is 1.6% above March.

Housing Completions

  • Privately‐owned housing completions in April were at an annual rate of 1,375,000. This is 10.4% below March, but is 1.0% above the April 2022 rate.
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  • Single‐family housing completions in April were at a rate of 971,000 This is 6.5% below the March rate.

Sources: census.gov