New-home sales in the US increased last month for the first time since March as house prices continued to fall, though inventory remained elevated at more than a nine-month supply.
Sales of new single-family homes increased 1.6% sequentially in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 628,000, the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development said Friday. Analysts polled by Bloomberg expected a 607,000 print.
May sales were revised to 618,000 homes from a prior reading of 580,000 units.
The median sales price for new homes fell 3.3% month-over-month to $398,300, marking a second consecutive drop.
"There are some geographic mix impacts that could be weighing on median price, such as the notable decline in West sales," Truist Securities Senior Analyst Jonathan Bettenhausen said in a note on Friday. "However, (year-to-date) price declines have averaged about 2%, which is the average (year over year) price decline seen in both 2024 and 2025."
S&P Cotality Case-Shiller data showed last month that annual home values fell in real terms for an 11th straight month in April.
New home sales plummeted by 22% sequentially in the West region in June, compared with gains across the other three major regions, the Census Bureau and HUD said.
June new-house inventory edged down 0.2% to 485,000 units, reflecting a 9.3-month supply on the market, down from a 9.4-month supply in May, according to the report.
A six-month supply is typically viewed as a balanced market, the National Association of Home Builders said in February.
"The builders continue to pare back starts pace to limit balance sheet inventory growth," Truist's Bettenhausen said. "We think this will continue to weigh on single family housing starts in the back half of the year unless absorption rates start to work higher."
US housing starts increased more than expected last month amid a sharp jump in multi-family projects, government data showed last week.
