The market for new homes outperformed the one for existing homes in April despite a slowdown in the pace of sales.
New homes sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 622,000, which represents a 6.2% decline from the upwardly revised pace of 663,000 in March, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development reported. Year over year, sales were down 11.3% from the April 2025 rate of 701,000.
“April’s new-home sales report suggests the early spring home-buying momentum may be losing steam as higher mortgage rates and resurgent affordability pressures weigh on buyers again,” First American Financial Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi said. “Despite April’s slowdown, the new-home market continues to outperform existing-home sales, with builders using incentives and rate buydowns to unlock demand that remains fundamentally supported by demographics.”
The median sales price of new homes sold in April rose 8% to $422,500 from $391,100 in March. Year over year, the median price was up 2.2% from $413,600 in April 2025.
“The increase likely reflects product mix more than renewed pricing power,” Kushi said. “In April, 55% of homes sold were priced $400,000 and above, up from 47% in March, pointing to a larger share of higher-priced transactions rather than a broad acceleration in home prices.
“Builders also continue to rely heavily on incentives and selective price cuts to support demand. Recent builder sentiment shows that nearly one-third of builders are still cutting prices, while the use of sales incentives remains widespread.”
The seasonally adjusted estimate of new homes for sale at the end of April rose 1.7% to 489,000 from 481,000 in March. Year over year, supply was 2.2% below the April 2025 estimate of 500,000.
“The April slowdown also aligns with soft builder sentiment and renewed pressure from higher mortgage rates,” Kushi said. “At the same time, new-home sales continue to demonstrate relative resiliency compared with the existing-home market, which remains in the doldrums and constrained by the lock-in effect. Even with April’s pullback, new-home sales are still running modestly above pre-pandemic norms.”