Sales of new homes have continued to reach new heights, increasing by 4.8% to a seasonally adjusted rate of a little more than 1 million for August – the first time new home sales had eclipsed that mark since 2006. Compared to the same period a year earlier, sales surged 43.2%, according to data released from the U.S. Census Bureau on Thursday.
Of the new homes purchased, construction on 33.8% had not been started and 37.1% were still under construction.
Housing continues to remain a bright spot in the economy as potential buyers come out of quarantine and look to move from high-cost cities to the suburbs. Of the new homes purchased, construction on 33.8% had not been started and 37.1% were still under construction, marking increases of 4.2% and 6.2%, respectively, from a year earlier. One note of caution, however, around an increase in lumber prices, which could drive up the average cost of a new home by $16,000, according to the National Association of Home Builders – not enough, though, to slow the continued migration to the suburbs.
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