New Home Sales Essentially Flat in October, Continuing Strong Fall Season

Sales of newly built, single-family homes in October dipped 0.3 percent to 999,000 from an upwardly revised September number, according to newly released data by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. Despite the monthly decline, the October rate is 41.5 percent higher than the October 2019 pace, and on a year-to-date basis, new home sales are up 20.6 percent in 2020.

"Buyer traffic remained strong in October even as the country's attention was focused on the elections and policy issues going into 2021," said NAHB chairman Chuck Fowke, a custom home builder from Tampa, Fla. "Mortgage rates remain low and builder confidence is at an all-time high indicating that demand remains steady and sales will remain solid."