New-home sales rose in August by 6.4 percent month over month, by the government’s count. The Census Bureau found the gain fell within its margin of error (and it was 2 percent below the August 2025 rate), but one figure it marked significant: An 8.8 percent annual drop in the average price of a new home last month.
Builders sold new homes at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 684,000 in August, up from July’s rate of 643,000, according to data released Friday by the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The rate estimates how many homes would sell in a year if August’s pace held. The Bureau estimated sales were down 2 percent from August 2025, when the rate was 698,000.
The Census Bureau did not find either change statistically significant. The agency reported margins of error of 19.5 percent for the monthly change and 15.7 percent for the annual change.
Average price drops 8.8% from a year earlier
The Bureau estimated the average sales price of a new home fell 8.8 percent to $478,700 from $525,100 in August 2025. The average also fell 9.1 percent from July, when it stood at $526,400, according to the Bureau.
The median sales price was $393,700, according to the Census Bureau estimates, up 0.4 percent from July’s $392,200 and down 5.8 percent from $417,900 in August 2025. The agency did not find either change statistically significant.
That median was about $41,100 below the median price of an existing single-family home, which NAR reported at $434,800 in its August report, released Sept. 10. NAR said the existing single-family median was up 1.7 percent from a year earlier.
Builders turn to price cuts and incentives
More builders cut prices in September, according to the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. The survey found 38 percent of builders reported price cuts, up from 35 percent in August. Sixty-six percent used sales incentives, up from 63 percent in August and the highest share since December, when it reached 67 percent. The average price cut held at 6 percent for a sixth straight month, according to NAHB.
The Bureau estimated builders had 483,000 new homes for sale at the end of August, unchanged from July and down 2 percent from 493,000 a year earlier. At the current sales pace, that inventory represents 8.5 months of supply, according to the agency, down from 9 months in July and unchanged from August 2025.
By the numbers
- 684,000: Seasonally adjusted annual rate of new-home sales in August, up 6.4 percent from July, according to the Census Bureau. The agency did not find the change statistically significant.
- $478,700: Average new-home sales price, down 8.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the Census Bureau. This was the only statistically significant change in the report.
- $393,700: Median new-home sales price, down 5.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the Census Bureau. The change was not statistically significant.
- $434,800: Median existing single-family home price in August, up 1.7 percent from a year earlier, according to NAR.
- 483,000: New homes for sale at the end of August, unchanged from July, according to the Census Bureau.
- 8.5 months: Supply of new homes at the current sales pace, unchanged from August 2025, according to the Census Bureau.
- 38 percent: Share of builders who reported cutting prices in September, up from 35 percent in August, according to NAHB.
- 66 percent: Share of builders who used sales incentives in September, the highest since December, according to NAHB.
- 6.67 percent: Average 30-year fixed mortgage rate in August, according to Freddie Mac data cited by NAR.
