A limited amount of existing inventory along with solid demand helped new home sales end the year on an up note , even as buyers continue to grapple with housing affordability challenges . Sales of newly built , singlefamily homes in December increased 3.6 % to a 698,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate from an upwardly revised November number , according to newly released data from the U . S . Department of Housing and Urban Development and the

U . S . Census Bureau . The pace of new home sales in December was up 6.7 % compared to a year earlier . “ New home sales ended 2024 higher on ongoing limited resale inventory conditions ,” said Carl Harris , chairman of the National Association of Home Builders ( NAHB ) and a custom home builder from Wichita , Kan . “ Builders are cautiously optimistic about the building market for 2025 given a postelection policy reset that seeks to eliminate unnecessary regulations .” “ New home sales ended the year 2.5 % higher over the 2023 total ,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz . “ NAHB is forecasting a slight gain for sales in 2025 given ongoing

solid macroeconomic conditions , particularly for the labor market .” A new home sale occurs when a sales contract is signed , or a deposit is accepted . The home can be in any stage of construction : not yet started , under construction or completed . In addition to adjusting for seasonal effects , the December reading of 698,000 units is the number of homes that would sell if this pace continued for the next 12 months . New single-family home inventory in December continued to rise to a level of 494,000 , up 10 % compared to a year earlier . This represents an 8.5 months ’ supply at the current building pace . Completed ready-tooccupy inventory is up 46 % to a level of 118,000 , compared to a

year ago . NAHB estimates the combined new and existing total months ’ supply ( 8.5 months ’ supply for new homes while the much larger resale market was at 3.1 ) fell to just a 4 months ’ supply in December , the lowest since April 2024 . The market has not been near a 6 months ’ supply , which represents a balanced market , since 2012 . The median new home sale price in December was $ 427,000 , up 2.1 % from a year ago . Regionally , on a year-to-year basis for 2024 totals , new home sales were strongest in the Midwest , up 19 % in 2024 . Sales also rose 1.7 % in the Northeast and 2.6 % in the West but declined 0.2 % in the South .

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