Single-Family Home Sales Increase in 2nd Quarter
Single-family home sales increased by almost 24% compared to new home sales in 2015 in April. Compared to March, 2016’s home sales, single-family home sales increased by almost 17%. Finally, sales went up to 619,000, an eight-year high during the month of April as well.
Home buyers are taking advantage of the availability of new homes because the inventory of new homes for sale
on the market has decreased to a 4.7 month’s supply – a total of 243,000 new homes for sale with only 56,000 completed, move-in ready homes available. Demand will require that builders increase their production of new homes for sale in order to keep up with the buyers.
Single-Family Home Builders
April’s sales numbers go hand-in-hand with the reported new, single-family home starts which increased by 3.3% at the beginning of April. Builder confidence held steady for the 4th month in a row since February, 2016, which contributed to new construction starts and inventory on the ground. Single-family home permits in the beginning of April were already up year-over-year by 8.4%, so construction of new homes should continue to escalate over 
the next few months.
While first-time home buyers are finding it difficult to find new homes for sale in their price range, the sales of homes priced from $150,000 – $200,000 increased to 10,000 sales in April. For existing home sales, the first-time home buyer sales accounted for 32% of these sales, opening up the market, once again for homes priced affordably.
Good News for Resale Market
Existing home sale closings increased by 6% year-over-year and by 1.7% compared to March’s sales. It is definitely a seller’s market right now as existing home inventory also stands at a 4.7 month supply like single-family new homes.
The 2nd quarter of 2016 shows good news for the housing market after a slow 1st quarter start. New, single-family home starts and permits indicate an increase in new home inventory moving forward in the 3rd quarter. Sellers should be able to “take their pick” of home buyers as supply currently is lagging behind demand.
