WASHINGTON– Sales of new homes in the United States weakened more than expected in November and fell to the lowest level in a year, according to official data.
The market has been marked in recent months by a lack of supply, since high rates discourage owners from putting their properties up for sale.
The real estate market has been in contraction since 2022 and the first three quarters of this year, it is the worst real estate collapse in recent decades.
Under Joe Biden’s government, inflation skyrocketed since March 2021 and reached its peak of 9.1% in June 2022, but economists claim that the figure could have been higher than the official figure.
Last month, sales of new single-family homes stood at a 590,000 annual rate, about 12% below the October figure, the Commerce Department said.
However, the report adds that it was slightly above the 582,000 recorded in November 2022. The average sales price of new homes sold also rose and reached $434,700 in November.
Sales of new homes also fell 5.6% in October, and the data for the month of September were corrected downwards, in a sector greatly affected by high interest rates.
Despite a sustained decrease in prices in different regions of the country, 679,000 new homes were sold in October in annual projection (the 12-month figure if the conditions at the time of measurement were maintained), a drop compared to September, reported the Department of Commerce.
The decrease was greater than expected. Analysts were expecting 725,000 transactions, according to the Market Watch consensus.
Sales in September were revised downwards, to 719,000 units instead of the previously announced 759,000, an advance of 8.6% compared to August, but below the 12.3% growth initially announced.
The impact of interest rates, high prices and record inflation for almost three years have been the trigger for the slowdown in property sales.
Source: With information from AFP.
