No Halloween Scares Here – Just Good News for New Home Sales!

No Halloween Scares Here – Just Good News for New Home Sales!

October 31st, 2017

Have you seen the new homes being built lately?  They’re a little nicer than a creaky old haunted house!   

 

Sales numbers are in for last month, and in a bit of a surprise, sales of new homes jumped way up (18.9 percent), to the highest levels in almost 10 years!

This was in spite of the fact that many economists were expecting the housing market to slow down or stall.   The ‘experts’ said we’d take a step back in the third quarter, and there were fears that Hurricanes Harvey and Irma would particularly hurt homebuilding in September.   So it’s great to hear that in spite of that we’re seeing a lot of strength, especially on the new home side!

This is really a leading indicator of the market, since new home sales numbers are drawn from permits, and more than two thirds of the new homes sold in September were either under construction or yet to be started.   It’s a good sign for homebuilders, and will likely encourage more building, but in the short term it doesn’t help the tight inventory situation we’ve been in for so long now.  With the spike in new home sales, inventory on the market was basically unchanged, even though building is up.   Right now we’re at about 5 months worth of inventory nationally  (a little below the 6th month supply that most would view as the sweet spot spot between supply and demand).

We’ve been looking for increased construction by the homebuilders, and it seems like we’re getting it, but not any faster than buyers are snatching them up right now.   But if the builders are selling, you can bet they’ll keep building.  It’s a good time to check out the new developments in your area, to see some of the innovations in layout, design, and even smart home technologies that builders are incorporating to attract this wave of buyers.  If you haven’t looked at a new home in a while, you should!  And if you’ve been looking, let us help you navigate the ins and outs of dealing with the developers to get you the best deal and best property.

Contact us to talk about new homes coming available, before someone else grabs your dream house.   And have a happy Halloween!