Sales of newly built homes were rising at the end of last year and continued to increase once 2023 arrived. In fact, according to new numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, new home sales rose 7.2 percent in January – and that’s following an upward revision of December’s numbers. The increases were likely fueled by falling mortgage rates, which provided relief to winter home shoppers. So what does this mean to the average buyer? Well, any increase in new home sales is good news for buyers, since it encourages builders to build more new homes, which adds supply to the housing market and moderates prices for both new and existing homes. Right now, the inventory of homes for sale remains lower than historically normal. So rising new home sales is a positive sign for the market and buyers hoping to find a house this spring. (source)
