Sales of newly built, single-family homes rose 7.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 764,000 units in January, coming off an upward revision in December, according to newly released data by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. The monthly number is 18.6 percent higher than the January 2019 rate and the highest monthly sales pace since July 2007.
"The January sales pace matches what builders are saying in NAHB surveys - builder confidence is strong and low interest rates have fueled single-family housing demand at the start of 2020," said Dean Mon, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder and developer from Shrewsbury, N.J.