In more encouraging news about the housing industry, this article from the National Association of Home Builders states that new home sales hit a post-recession high in November of last year. Sales of newly built, single-family homes rose a whopping 17.5 percent, the highest level since July of 2007. If you’re thinking about building a new home in Salt Lake City, now is a great time to do so with interest rates still at historic lows.
Builder confidence continues to rise due to an increased demand for housing as low inventories of used homes remain low. Continue reading the full article below.
Sales of newly built, single-family homes in November rose 17.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 733,000 units from a downwardly revised October reading, according to newly released data by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. This is the highest sales pace since July 2007. Year-to-date, new home sales are 9.1 percent above their level over the same period last year.
“The November sales numbers are consistent with our reports of growing builder confidence, particularly big gains in traffic to new home sites,” said Granger MacDonald, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder and developer from Kerrville, Texas. “Builders are encouraged by the increased demand for housing and expect business to continue to improve in 2018.”
“Tax reform legislation should boost economic growth, setting the stage for continued strengthening of the housing market,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “Job market growth, expected wage increases and tight existing home inventory will also help the market move forward next year.”
The inventory of new homes for sale was 283,000 in November, which is a 4.6-month supply at the current sales pace.
New home sales increased in all four regions. Sales rose 31.1 percent in the West, 14.9 percent in the South, 9.5 percent in the Northeast and 6.9 percent in the Midwest.
