Sales of newly constructed single-family homes continued to slide in July 2025 as builders faced a market of buyers who are not responding favorably to higher mortgage rates and home prices.
TAKE THE INMAN INTEL SURVEY FOR AUGUST
Sales of new single-family homes declined 8.2 percent year over year and dropped 0.6 percent month over month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 652,000, according to data released on Monday by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Economists polled by Reuters anticipated that new single-family home sales would increase to a rate of 630,000 units.
By the end of July 2025, the seasonally adjusted estimate of new homes for sale was 499,000, down 0.6 percent from the previous month’s estimate and 7.3 percent above the July 2024 estimate of 465,000. The sales pace for June was also upgraded, from the reported pace last month of 627,000 up to 656,000.
At the current sales rate, 499,000 homes for sale represents a 9.2-month supply, which is equal to inventory levels from June 2025. That inventory estimate is up 16.5 percent year over year from July 2024’s estimate of 7.9 months.
Meanwhile, the median sales price ticked down 0.8 percent from the month before to $403,800. That price is also 5.9 percent below the July 2024 median sales price of $429,000.
The average sales price of new homes sold during July 2025 was $487,300, 3.6 percent below the June 2025 average sales price and 5 percent below the July 2024 average sales price.
“There’s a glut of homes for sale — both new homes and existing homes — and buyers aren’t interested at these prices and mortgage rates,” Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union said in a statement emailed to Inman. “Homebuilders are trying to move inventory by offering price cuts and incentives, but it’s not enough to lure most buyers yet. It’s telling that the median price of a new home is now slightly below the median price of existing homes for sale, a sign of how much homebuilders are trying to entice buyers.”
