Sales of new U.S. homes jumped 4% in March, propelled by a surge of buying in the West.
The Commerce Department says today that sales last month were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 694,000. The two prior months had their sales revised upward with the annual rate being 667,000 in February and 644,000 in January.
For the first three months of 2018, sales are running 10.3% higher than a year ago.
Homebuyers are snapping up newly built houses as the economic outlook has continued to improve in recent months. Moreover, the gains haven’t been derailed so far by 30-year mortgage rates climbing to their highest averages since early 2014.
Still, the solid sales growth for new homes also shows that many would-be buyers can’t find existing homes that are available to purchase. Listings for existing homes sank to the lowest levels on record for March, the National Association of Realtors reported on Monday.
The Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors has yet to release monthly housing reports for this year. But RE/MAX’s Kyle Petersen noted at last week’s Trends in Baton Rouge Real Estate seminar that the market continues to show stability months after being disrupted by the August 2016 flood.
