HOUSING MARKETS & REAL ESTATE · SEPTEMBER 25, 2026
New-Home Sales Rise in August as Median Price Remains Below Last Year
Census and HUD estimated new single-family home sales at a 684,000 annual rate in August, up 6.4% from July, with 8.5 months of supply and a $393,700 median price.
What Census and HUD released on September 24
Source publication date: September 24, 2026. The U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development estimated that new single-family houses sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 684,000 in August. That was 6.4% above the revised July rate of 643,000 and 2.0% below the August 2025 rate. The published confidence intervals were wider than both comparisons, meaning the reported changes were not statistically distinguishable from zero.
- 01Up 6.4% from July
- 028.5 months of supply
- 03Median price was $393,700
Inventory held steady while months of supply declined
The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of August was 483,000, virtually unchanged from July and 2.0% below a year earlier. At the August sales pace, that represented 8.5 months of supply, down from 9.0 months in July and unchanged from August 2025. Months of supply can move because of both the inventory numerator and the annualized sales-rate denominator, so it should not be read as a stand-alone measure of market balance.
Price estimates were lower than a year earlier
The median sale price was estimated at $393,700, 0.4% above July and 5.8% below August 2025. The average price was $478,700, down 9.1% from July and 8.8% from a year earlier. Monthly price measures can shift with the geographic, size, and feature mix of homes sold. The report does not measure incentives, mortgage buydowns, cancellations after contract, resale competition, or the economics of a specific subdivision.
Practical borrower takeaway
For a development, acquisition, construction, or investor request, reconcile signed contracts, cancellations, traffic, incentives, lot and unit inventory, absorption, completion timing, hard and soft costs, interest carry, and gross margin by product and price band. Compare local listings, competing deliveries, mortgage-rate sensitivity, and a slower-sales downside case. Use national data as context while sizing debt and equity from current market evidence and lender requirements.
Builders, investors, and real-estate borrowers should ground underwriting in local contracts, cancellations, incentives, absorption, competing inventory, costs, and rate sensitivity rather than a national monthly estimate.
Discuss a financing need →This independent summary is based on the cited source and is provided for general educational purposes only. Terms and program requirements may change.