In May, the sales of newly built, single-family homes rose for a third consecutive month posting a 2.1 percent gain to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 476,000 units, according to data released by HUD and the U.S. Census Bureau. From our calculations, since July of 2008, this is the fastest sales pace recorded. Whoo-hoo! We love to report that there’s an increase demand for builders to actually build new homes. Probably because these home-buyers want to take advantage of historically low mortgage rates while they can. Rick Judson, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Charlotte, N.C. said basically the same thing and added, “Consumers in markets nationwide are definitely becoming more confident about making a home purchase as firming prices and tighter inventories provide further evidence of the ongoing housing recovery.”
So to go on, three out of four regions posted sales gains in May, with double-digit increases of 20.7 percent and 40.7 percent in the Northeast and Midwest, respectively, and a more moderate, 3.6 percent gain in the West. The South posted a 9.0 percent decrease following an unsustainably large gain in the previous month.
Robert Denk, NAHB Senior Economist, goes on to explain, “Today’s report confirms that the improvement we have been seeing in housing markets over the past year continues to take place at a gradual and steady pace. We expect to see more of this positive momentum in the coming months, tempered by the caution that builders are exercising to avoid getting ahead of demand along with ongoing constraints they face with regard to the availability of credit, materials, lots and labor.”
We love being able to tell you that home-builders and new homes are in demand. As people get excited about the economy, we hope this trend continues.
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