HUD and Census Bureau: New Residential Sales Report Released for February 2024

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Census Bureau jointly announced the following new residential sales statistics for February 2024:

New Home Sales
Sales of new single‐family houses in February 2024 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 662,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.  This is 0.3 percent (±16.2 percent)* below the revised January rate of 664,000, but is 5.9 percent (±14.3 percent)* above the February 2023 estimate of 625,000.

Sales Price
The median sales price of new houses sold in February 2024 was $400,500. The average sales price was $485,000.

For Sale Inventory and Months’ Supply
The seasonally‐adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of February was 463,000. This represents a supply of 8.4 months at the current sales rate.

The March report is scheduled for release on April 23, 2024. View the full schedule in the Economic Briefing Room: www.census.gov/economic‐indicators/. The full text and tables for this release can be found at www.census.gov/construction/nrs/

EXPLANATORY NOTES
These statistics are estimated from sample surveys. They are subject to sampling variability as well as nonsampling error including bias and variance from response, nonreporting, and undercoverage. Estimated average relative standard errors of the preliminary data are shown in the tables. Whenever a statement such as “2.5 percent (±3.2%) above” appears in the text, this indicates the range (‐0.7 to +5.7 percent) in which the actual percent change is likely to have occurred. All ranges given for percent changes are 90‐percent confidence intervals and account only for sampling variability. If a range does not contain zero, the change is statistically significant. If it does contain zero, the change is not statistically significant; that is, it is uncertain whether there was an increase or decrease. The same policies apply to the confidence intervals for percent changes shown in the tables. Changes in seasonally adjusted statistics often show irregular movement. It takes 3 months to establish a trend for new houses sold. Preliminary new home sales figures are subject to revision due to the survey methodology and definitions used. The survey is primarily based on a sample of houses selected from building permits. Since a “sale” is defined as a deposit taken or sales agreement signed, this can occur prior to a permit being issued. An estimate of these prior sales is included in the sales figure. On average, the preliminary seasonally adjusted estimate of total sales is revised about 3.2 percent. Changes in sales price data reflect changes in the distribution of houses by region, size, etc., as well as changes in the prices of houses with identical characteristics. Explanations of confidence intervals and sampling variability can be found at the Census Bureau’s website.

* The 90 percent confidence interval includes zero. In such cases, there is insufficient statistical evidence to conclude that the actual change is different from zero. The Census Bureau has reviewed SOC monthly and quarterly tables to ensure appropriate access, use, and disclosure avoidance protection of the confidential source data (Disclosure Review Board (DRB) approval number: CBDRB‐FY23‐0307)

Special notice: Beginning with the April 2024 New Residential Sales release on May 23, 2024, the sales price range groups in the related Census table, “New Privately‐Owned Houses Sold, by Sales Price” will be updated to better reflect the current distribution of new home prices. New price groupings will also be introduced in Census’ time series file “New Houses Sold and For Sale by Price Range.” Example tables containing the new price groups are provided on the Census website, www.census.gov/construction/nrs. Data between January 2020 and March 2024 will be re‐calculated incorporating any additional data and revisions received since initial publication and re‐released in the new price groupings. Data from 2002‐2019 will be archived in a time series file with the former price groupings. In addition, data in the “Quarterly Sales by Price and Financing,” the price index for “Quarterly Single‐Family Houses Sold,” and all tables containing historical median and average sales price data will be revised between January 2020 and March 2024.