U.S. New Home Sales Plunge in January to Lowest Level Since Oct. ’22
Summary
- January sales -17.6% m/m (-11.3% y/y) to 587,000, third m/m fall in four months.
- Sales m/m down in all four regions; sales y/y down in the West (-28.7% y/y) and South (-8.8% y/y).
- Median sales price down to $400,500; avg. price down to $499,500—both at six-month lows.
- Months' supply rises to 9.7 mths., highest since Oct. ’22.
New single-family home sales dropped 17.6% m/m (-11.3% y/y) to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 587,000 units in January—below expectations—following a downwardly revised 6.8% decline to 712,000 in December (initially -1.7%, 745,000) and an upwardly revised 17.5% jump to 764,000 in November (previously +15.5%, 758,000), according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The Action Economics Forecast Survey had expected January sales of 725,000. January marked the third m/m decrease in four months, the deepest m/m fall since July 2013, and the lowest level since October 2022, though sales remained 13.1% above the July 2022 low of 519,000. The January m/m sales drop occurred alongside a decline in the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate to 6.11%, the lowest since September 2022, down from 6.20% in December and 6.96% in January 2025; the rate had subsequently continued trending downward, according to Freddie Mac.
Regionally, January new home sales fell across all four regions. Sales in the Northeast plummeted 44.7% (0.0% y/y) to a six-month-low 26,000 in January, the steepest m/m decrease since February 2023, on top of a 19.0% drop in December. Sales in the Midwest plunged 33.9% (+18.0% y/y) to 72,000, the third m/m decline in four months and the lowest level since March 2025, after a 31.3% December rebound. Sales in the West slumped 21.6% (-28.7% y/y) to a three-month-low 127,000, the first m/m fall since October, following a 1.3% December increase. Sales in the South slid 8.1% (-8.8% y/y) to 362,000, the fourth m/m slide in five months and the lowest level since October 2024, after a 14.9% December drop. The South remained the dominant region, accounting for 61.7% of total U.S. new home sales.
The median sales price of a new home fell 4.5% (-6.8% y/y) to $400,500 in January, the first m/m fall in three months and the lowest level since July 2025, after a 3.6% advance to $419,200 in December. The median sales price was 13.0% below its record high of $460,300 in October 2022. The average sales price of a new home dropped 5.9% (-3.6% y/y) to a six-month-low $499,500 following a 0.8% December decline to $530,900 and two consecutive m/m increases. The average price was 7.7% below a high of $541,200 in July 2022. These sales price data are not seasonally adjusted.
The number of unsold new homes on the market rose 0.4% (-4.0% y/y) to 476,000 in January, the first m/m rise since October, following a 2.1% decline to 474,000 in December (the lowest level since September 2024). The latest figure was 11.7% above a low of 426,000 in July 2023. The seasonally adjusted months' supply of new homes for sale rose to 9.7 months in January, the highest reading since October 2022, after rising to 8.0 months in December. The latest reading, while above a low of 6.9 months in May 2023, remained below a high of 10.6 months in July 2022.
The median number of months a new home stayed on the market increased to 3.2 months in January, the highest since April 2022, after rising to 2.9 months in December. The latest number was above its record low of 1.5 months in September and October 2022 but well below a peak of 5.1 months in March 2021. These figures date back to January 1975.
New home sales are recorded when the sales contract is signed. New home sales activity and prices are available in Haver's USECON database. The consensus expectation figure from Action Economics is available in the AS1REPNA database.
Winnie Tapasanun
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Winnie Tapasanun has been working for Haver Analytics since 2013. She has 20+ years of working in the financial services industry. As Vice President and Economic Analyst at Globicus International, Inc., a New York-based company specializing in macroeconomics and financial markets, Winnie oversaw the company’s business operations, managed financial and economic data, and wrote daily reports on macroeconomics and financial markets. Prior to working at Globicus, she was Investment Promotion Officer at the New York Office of the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) where she wrote monthly reports on the U.S. economic outlook, wrote reports on the outlook of key U.S. industries, and assisted investors on doing business and investment in Thailand. Prior to joining the BOI, she was Adjunct Professor teaching International Political Economy/International Relations at the City College of New York. Prior to her teaching experience at the CCNY, Winnie successfully completed internships at the United Nations. Winnie holds an MA Degree from Long Island University, New York. She also did graduate studies at Columbia University in the City of New York and doctoral requirements at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Her areas of specialization are international political economy, macroeconomics, financial markets, political economy, international relations, and business development/business strategy. Her regional specialization includes, but not limited to, Southeast Asia and East Asia. Winnie is bilingual in English and Thai with competency in French. She loves to travel (~30 countries) to better understand each country’s unique economy, fascinating culture and people as well as the global economy as a whole.
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