There were 121,000 newly-built homes unsold in July, the highest July figure since 2009 and up from 103,000 in July 2024. New single-family home sales fell to a 652,000 annual pace in July, down 8.2% year over year. Existing-home sales also declined to the lowest annual level since 1995. Tariff-driven higher-than-expected inflation and elevated mortgage rates have weakened consumer sentiment. The Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index fell year over year in February, and five of six HPSI components fell again in June. High prices and borrowing costs are limiting first-time buyers and reducing market turnover.
There were more newly-built homes sitting on the market in July than there have been since the depths of the Great Recession, new data from the US Census Bureau and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development shows. Last month, 121,000 new homes were waiting to be bought, up from 103,000 in July 2024 and higher than any July since 2009, when there were 126,000. Sales of new single-family homes fell to 652,000 in July - an 8.2% drop from July 2024, the Census Bureau and HUD reported.
Before President Donald Trump's election in 2024, economists and housing researchers expected cooling inflation and interest rate cuts to boost home sales this year. But the administration's tariff policies have led to higher-than-expected inflation and mortgage rates, and consumer sentiment remains dismal. In February, the Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index fell year over year for the first time since 2023, largely due to consumer concerns about high mortgage rates.
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