Earlier this month, it was reported that sales of existing homes fell during June, but the latest report on sales of newly constructed homes offers modestly more positive indicators for housing.
According to the latest findings from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), new single-family homes sales were at a seasonally-adjusted rate of 628,000. This is a 1.6% monthly increase from May 2026 results (618,000), but also a 5.6% annual drop compared to the June 2025 rate of 665,000. Nonetheless, this is still a reversal from the June report which reported new home sales had dipped in May 2026.
The estimated number of new homes for sale at the end of June was 485,000, 0.2% below the May estimate and 3.2% below the June 2025 estimate. The current sales rate represents about 9.3 months of inventory, a slightly monthly downturn of 1.1% compared to May 2026’s 9.4 month estimate, but a slight annual increase from the June 2025 estimate of 9 months.
“Though it is encouraging to see these June new-home sales figures rebound from May’s disappointment, the annualized pace for June is still well below the actual total sales from 2025 and 2024 (686,000),” said Joel Berner, senior economist of Realtor.com®, in a statement. “Builders are facing a challenging set of circumstances as their costs continue to rise at the same time that competition from the existing home sector grows and buyer confidence wanes.”
Economic forecasting
Selma Hepp, chief economist at Cotality, said in a statement that “(b)uilders continue to benefit from strong housing demand, but affordability remains a major challenge as high mortgage rates and rising ownership costs keep many buyers on the sidelines.”
Hepp added that the recently passed 21st Century Road to Housing Act “could help boost supply over time through faster permitting, workforce development and infrastructure investment, but meaningful affordability improvements will likely take time.”
“Improving existing-home inventory is also increasing competition, making incentives more important,” added Hepp. As possible evidence of incentives, median sales price on new homes dropped in June to $398,300. This is a 3.3% drop from May 2026 and a 2.7% drop from June 2025. The average sales price also declined to $475,400, a 9.5% drop compared to May and a 6.5% drop compared to June 2025.
Berner added that “(Realtor.com’s) research has shown that builders are more likely to offer price cuts than existing home sellers in recent quarters, and this aggressive price discovery for attracting increasingly skittish buyers is evident.”
Ali Wolf, chief economist of New Home Source, concurred with Hepp in a statement, saying: “Builders are leaning more heavily on incentives to drive sales in a market where buyers remain cautious. But incentives are a Band-aid, not a cure. Many consumers want or need to move, but they’re worried about timing the market, overpaying or making the wrong decision.”
“The builders finding success are the ones helping buyers feel confident about their purchase by emphasizing the long-term value of homeownership, the benefits of the home and community and why now may be the right time for them to act. Incentives work best when they’re used to reinforce that confidence, not create it.”
Regional breakdown
Of the four major U.S. census regions, all except the West showed monthly growth in the number of homes sold during June 2026. At a seasonally-adjusted rate, the West specifically saw a drop from 134,000 homes sold in May to 104,000 in June.
On the other hand, the South posted both the largest increase and the highest rate of homes sold in a vacuum; 412,000 in June, up from 375,000 in May. The Midwest and the Northeast meanwhile both posted marginal increases.
After a drop from 84,000 in March to 67,000 in April, the rate of homes sold in the Midwest has recovered from that one-month dip. In June, the region posted 83,000 homes sold, up from 81,000 in May.
The Northeast has seen the lowest rate of homes sold throughout 2026, but has maintained consistency. Apart from a 19,000 reading in February and a 28,000 reading in May, the seasonally-adjusted average number of homes sold in the Northeast per month came in at exactly 29,000, including in June, per this latest report.
Looking at annual changes across regions, though, a somewhat different narrative emerges. The West is also the region that posted the largest annual decline, specifically a drop of 24.6% in the rate of homes sold. Berner, commenting on the annual results, said: “This is not a one-off observation, Western sales fell sharply last month as well and are 10.1% behind 2025 pacing in year-to-date sales.”
Also posting much smaller declines were the South (1.4% drop) and the Midwest (1.2% drop). The Northeast, meanwhile, posted a noticeable annual increase of 16%.
“Only the Midwest (+2.6%) leads 2025 in sales for the year to date. The Northeast had the strongest June in terms of new-home sales, up 3.6% month over month and up 16.0% year over year, but the volume of sales there remains significantly lower than in the other regions,” said Berner.
“The inventory recovery out West, where there are 11.7% more homes for sale now than there were before the pandemic, has led to intense competition between builders and existing home sellers over a buyer pool that is increasingly pinched by affordability concerns,” Berner added.
For the full report, click here.
