U.S. new single-family home sales jump 20.5% in August to 800,000

Sales of new single family homes in the United States jumped 20.5 percent in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 800,000 units, the Commerce Department's Census Bureau said Wednesday, marking the fastest pace since early 2022 and signaling a sudden pickup in builder activity even as the broader housing market remains uneven.

The August pace exceeded economists' expectations and followed an upward revision to July's rate, which was raised to 664,000 from an earlier estimate of 652,000. New home sales, which are recorded when contracts are signed and account for roughly 14 percent of U.S. home sales, rose 15.4 percent from a year earlier. The report also showed inventories of new homes for sale fell to 490,000 units, the lowest level this year.

Analysts linked the surge to a combination of lower mortgage rates and aggressive builder incentives. The average rate on a 30 year mortgage slipped to an 11 month low of 6.26 percent last week, Freddie Mac data showed, after the Federal Reserve cut its benchmark overnight rate by 25 basis points and projected additional reductions through 2025. A recent survey by the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo found 39...