New Home Sales Trending Upward

Posted in Real Estate Market News on Mar 30, 2017

If you’re going to make predictions about something, it’s always nice when they come true… If they’re about something that helps our industry, like new home sales for Real Estate, then it’s great when they exceed expectations!

One of the predictions we made for trends to watch in 2017 is beginning to show some results, and it looks like things are going even better than expected. Back in January, in our “What Can We Expect From Real Estate This Year?” post, we talked about the likely growth in new home sales. Well, the numbers are in from February and new home sales have jumped dramatically.

In our post we predicted about a 10 percent increase in 2017 for new home sales, and in February alone sales were up 6 percent over the previous month. Compared to last year, new home sales are tracking 12.8 percent ahead already!

Home Builders have been showing growing confidence in the housing market, and this will only continue to fuel that. That’s a good thing, because (as you may be tired of hearing if you’ve been following our blog, or reading other Real Estate news) it’s still very important that they keep building new homes to ease the housing crunch. Inventories are still low, and help from newly built homes can really make a difference. It may be the case that we’re already seeing this in these increased sales numbers.

As supply of existing homes for sale continues to be tight, it looks like more and more buyers are turning to new home purchases. And as these sales increase and builder confidence grows, that will likely mean greater increase in new construction - something that we’ve all been looking for. Even though there have been fears in the industry that the recent upticks in mortgage rates may cause some slowing in sales, this clearly doesn’t seem to be the case. Job growth and income growth are strong, and much of the new construction is finally in a more affordable price range. That being said, it’s likely that mortgage rates will continue to climb, and prices will rise, so if you’re on the fence, the time to move is now!

If you haven’t taken a tour of a newly built home lately, it’s time to check some out! The new features and trends in current home building are really wowing our buyers, and many are surprised by what you can get for your money in a new home. If you’re thinking of looking for a new place to live, let us show you some of the new developments in your area. Contact us, and we’ll schedule something. Ask us about this, new home trends, or any other Real Estate questions you might have!