Sales of new homes in the United States soared in November, defying higher mortgage rates, but theyโre still below year-ago levels. The US Commerce Department said Thursday that new-home sales jumped +17% in November from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 657,000. The November figure remained -7.7% below the November 2017 rate, according to new statistics published by the US Census Bureau and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.
![](https://madisonsreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/DistressingGapNov2018-e1548961754420.png)
Despite the healthy gain, sales remained 7.7 percent below the pace from a year ago.
โข Prior was 544,000
โข +16.9% (-8.3% prior)
โข Median price -11.9% year/year
โข Months supply 6.0 vs 7.0 prior
โข Homes for sale 330K vs 328K prior
Sales increased by +15% between November 2017 and November 2018 in the Northeast, while declining by -2.5% in the Midwest, -0.8% in the South, and -26% in the West.
Sales of existing homes plunged in December and were -3.1% in 2018 than the previous year.
Steady price gains, higher borrowing costs, and a limited supply of available houses have discouraged many would-be buyers. The housing market stumbled badly at the end of 2018 as mortgage rates reached a seven-year high near 5 percent.
- Homebuilders’ stocks gain strongly after new home sales reached a nine-month high in November, and October’s number was revised upward.
- iShares Home Construction ETF (ITB +2.8%), while boasting a 12% return in the past month, is still down 22% over the past year.
- Notable names on the move–D.R. Horton (DHI +3%), KB Home (KBH +3.3%), PulteGroup (PHM +3.2%), Toll Brothers (TOL +3.2%), Lennar (LEN +2.8%), and Beazer Homes (BZH +3.9%).