By Manuel Gutierrez, Consulting Economist to NKBA

Sales of new homes fell 4.5 percent in January, to an annualized rate of 801,000 units, after two months of gains.

• Regionally, the Northeast plunged 47 percent to 25,000 homes sold (annualized); the Midwest was off 37% to 78,000 sales, and the South fell 24% to 438,000 homes sold; the West grew 5 percent to 260,000 units.
• Strong housing demand continues to push prices higher, with the average price of a new home at $497,000 — 18.7 percent higher than last year. The median price is also up 13.4 percent from a year ago, at $423,000.
• In Q4 2021, 31 percent of all new homes sold were at prices exceeding $500,000 — up 12 percentage points from 2019 — while 62.7 percent of homes sold were between $250,000 and $499,000, up from 55.8% two years before.
• The highest median prices are in the Northeast ($550,000), followed by the West ($516,000), the Midwest ($372,000) and the South

New-home sales fell in January, although strong demand continues to put upward pressure on home prices.