New and Existing Home Sales Reports

NAHB compiles the latest annual, quarterly and monthly (not seasonally adjusted) housing market data for new home sales and existing home sales. Additional information is also available in the U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent press release and the methodology of its data compilation.

Regional Home Sales

Analyzing regional sales reports provides revealing comparisons of the number of new and existing homes sold within each of the four primary regions of the U.S., including single-family home sales and multifamily home sales. This report also details the number of new homes for sale in each region. View the Regional Home Sales Report

National Home Sales

Tracking nationwide sales and inventory levels offers key insights about current market conditions and future housing demand. These reports can also serve as early indicators of economic shifts, often triggering changes in consumer behavior. View the National Home Sales Report

Median Home Prices

Arguably the most significant factor for consumers looking to buy a home is sales price. The median prices report provides a month-by-month account of nationwide sales prices and the percent change from the previous month. View the Median Home Prices Report

How Do Rising Home Prices Affect Affordability?

A recent NAHB study estimates that a $1,000 increase in the median new home price ($425,786) would price 140,436 U.S. households out of the market. The number of priced-out households varies across both states and metropolitan areas, largely affected by the sizes of local population and the affordability of new homes.

Among all the states in 2023, Florida registered the largest number of households priced out of the market by a $1,000 increase in the median-priced home in the state (9,573), followed by Texas (9,151), and California (7,243), largely because these three states are the top three populous states.

How Do Higher Mortgage Interest Rates Affect Affordability?

Elevated mortgage rates, together with higher home prices, create affordability challenges, particularly for first-time buyers.

NAHB estimates show that in 2023, when the mortgage rates on a 30-year fixed mortgage rose from 6.25% to 6.5%, nearly 1.3 million households were priced out of the market for a median-priced home.

What are the Characteristics of Home Buyers?

NAHB uses the American Housing Survey (AHS) as one way to better understand the characteristics of recent home buyers.

The 2021 survey examined the 10.2 million households that purchased new houses and those who were first-time buyers in the two years prior to the date the AHS was conducted.

Key Findings about the home buyers in the 2021 AHS:

• 7% of home buyers purchased a new home.
• 40% were purchasing their first homes.
• The median age of all home buyers was 41.
• The median age of first-time buyers was 33.
• The median age of new home buyers was 45.

What is the Median Income of Home Buyers?

In the 2021 AHS, the median household income for all recent home buyers was $97,700. New home buyers had a higher median income than existing home buyers ($112,100 vs $95,200) and 15% higher than the median household income for all buyers in 2021.

About 58.2% of new home buyers make more than $100,000, 19.3% make between $60,000 and $99,999, and only 22.5% make less than $60,000.

Median household income for first-time home buyers was $90,000 in 2021, less than the median income of trade-up buyers ($101,000) and about 8% lower than the median for all buyers ($97,700).

About 43.6% of first-time home buyers make more than $100,000, 29.1% make between $60,000 and $99,999, and only 27.3% make less than $60,000. Moreover, only 5% of first-time buyers purchased newly built homes in 2021, compared to 8% of trade-up buyers who have higher household incomes and most likely benefit from building more equity during home price appreciations.

Median household income among all home buyers grew 13% from $60,000 in 2001 to $68,000 in 2007 and then fell 4% to $64,998 in 2011. After the Great Recession, household income grew accelerated, jumping by around 50% from $64,998 in 2011 to $97,700 in 2021.

How Do the Values of New Homes Compare to Other Homes?

In the 2021 AHS assessment of housing market data, the median price of homes purchased was $318,185, compared to $429,204 for new homes and $271,445 for homes purchased by first-time buyers.

The median sales price of the new homes was 34.9% above the median for all homes purchased. The median price of a first-time home buyer’s home was 14.7% below that of all homes purchased in 2021, the smallest the spread has been since 2015.

Around 86% of the homes purchased were single-family homes (detached), 8% were single-family homes (attached), and 6% were multifamily homes (condos). About 18% of the homes were purchased with zero down payments and only 16% of the homes were bought with a down payment of 20% or more.