New home sales rose 4.4% from June to July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 714,000, according to a report Wednesday from the Census Bureau. The reading comes despite persistently high mortgage rates.Sales in July were 31.5% higher than in July 2022.Mortgage rates are much higher now than they were a year ago because the Federal Reserve has been hiking rates consistently since March 2022.
During the height of the pandemic, when the housing market became red hot, homebuyers were able to lock in ultra-low mortgages of less than 3%. “Two factors are driving current sales activity – inventory availability and mortgage rates,” said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun. “Unfortunately, both have been unfavorable to buyers.”
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