Analysis from Veritas Urbis Economics shows that new-home sales in March were at 11 percent, nearly reaching the 10-year high of 11.1 percent in November 2017.
“When inventory is this low, homebuyers turn to new homes,” says Ralph McLaughlin, chief economist for the real estate consultancy firm. “Those are homes that predictably come on the market.” According to Bloomberg, the share of homes for sale in the U.S. last month was down 7.2 percent year-over-year at 1.67 million, based on National Association of Realtors' data.
U.S. homebuyers are now more likely to purchase new than at any time since the 2008 crash. They don’t have a lot of choice: The supply of existing homes is at a record low. The share of new-home sales peaked at about 17 percent in June 2003 during a building boom, then bottomed in 2010 at 5.4 percent. At the time, unemployment was high and the property market was clogged with unsold foreclosures. Prices for previously owned homes have since surged as buyers were left to battle for a scarcity of listings.
