Builders: Sales of new homes will increase in 2025

Outlook is rosy for new construction after a strong end of 2024

Builders: Sales of new homes will increase in 2025

Outlook is rosy for new construction after a strong end of 2024
New home construction

The market for newly built homes is a bright spot for housing as sales and inventories rose to end the year. An estimated 683,000 new homes were sold in 2024, up 2.5% compared to 2023, the U.S. Census Bureau reported this week.

Looking ahead, sales in 2025 are projected to beat last year’s totals. In December, the annual pace of sales picked up to a projected 698,000 units, which was up 6.7% compared to the pace set one year earlier.

The National Association of Home Builders “is forecasting a slight gain for sales in 2025 given ongoing solid macroeconomic conditions, particularly for the labor market,” said Robert Dietz, NAHB’s chief economist in a report this week.

Low inventories of existing homes for sale have also benefited the new home market. Home building is also increasing, NAHB reported this week.

The inventory of newly built homes hit 494,000 in December, up 10% compared to a year earlier, the trade group said.  That represents an 8.5 months’ supply at the current building pace.

Ready-to-occupy inventory hit 118,000 in December, increasing 46% compared to a year ago, NAHB said.

The median sales price of new houses sold in December was $427,000, up 2.1% from a year ago.

Author

  • Victor Whitman

    Victor Whitman is a contributing writer for Scotsman Guide and a former editor of the publication’s commercial magazine. 

More Headlines