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New Homes Sales Fall 3.5% in September After Strong Summer

While sales are up significantly from last year, the pandemic may start to weigh on this market as winter approaches and the virus continues to surge nationwide.
The Associated Press is an independent, not-for-profit news cooperative headquartered in New York City. Our teams in over 100 countries tell the world’s stories, from breaking news to investigative reporting. We provide content and services to help engage audiences worldwide, working with companies of all types, from broadcasters to brands.
The Associated Press is an independent, not-for-profit news cooperative headquartered in New York City. Our teams in over 100 countries tell the world’s stories, from breaking news to investigative reporting. We provide content and services to help engage audiences worldwide, working with companies of all types, from broadcasters to brands.

Image source: Paul Brennan / Pixabay

By Ken Sweet

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Sales of new homes fell by 3.5% in September to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 959,000 million units, the Commerce Department said Monday, as the housing market’s hot summer buying season cooled.

The Commerce Department said Monday that despite the modest decrease, sales of new homes are up 32.1% from a year earlier. However, the pandemic may start to weigh on the market as the colder winter months arrive and with coronavirus cases spiking across much of the U.S.

“While strong demand and low mortgage rates are supportive of home sales, the resurgence in Covid-19 cases, a recovery that may be shifting into reverse and a weak labor market pose downside risks,” said Nancy Vanden Houten with Oxford Economics, in an email.

The housing market, like most of the economy, came to a near standstill in March and in April, causing the typical spring summer buying season to be delayed until the summer. Once economies reopened, pent up demand translated into sales of both new and existing homes, driving home prices in many places to record highs. In July, home sales spiked 13.9%.

The July figures may have been the top of the housing market. New home sales for August were revised downward to 994,000 from a previously reported 1.01 million units.

The median price of a new home sold was $326,800, according to the Commerce Department.

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Source: AP News

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