New Home Sales Jump in March on High Consumer Demand

Low interest rates and strong consumer demand fueled a solid increase in new home sales in March, despite the ongoing building materials challenges impacting the industry. Sales of newly built, single-family homes rose 20.7 percent from an upwardly revised February number, to a 1.02 million seasonally adjusted annual rate, according to newly released data by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. This is the highest sales pace since September 2006.

"Our members are seeing strong buyer traffic as continued low mortgage rates are helping fuel sales," said Chuck Fowke, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a custom home builder from Tampa, Florida. "However, builders are still grappling with major supply chain issues and soaring materials costs, which are causing construction delays and preventing them from adding to the already very low inventory."