US new home sales rise 6.4% to 684,000 in August, but the average price falls 8.8% from a year earlier

The Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development reported on 24 September 2026 that sales of new single-family houses in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 684,000. That is 6.4% above July's revised 643,000 and 2.0% below August 2025's 698,000. The Bureau says the monthly change is not statistically significant: the 90% confidence interval runs from about −13 to +26 percentage points around the 6.4%.

Sales, supply and prices

• Sales: 684,000 a year (July: 643,000; August 2025: 698,000)
• Houses for sale: 483,000, virtually unchanged on July and 2.0% below a year earlier
• Months' supply: 8.5, down from 9.0 in July and the same as in August 2025
• Median sales price: $393,700, 0.4% above July's $392,200 and 5.8% below the $417,900 of August 2025
• Average sales price: $478,700, 9.1% below July's $526,400 and 8.8% below the $525,100 of a year earlier

The price figures come from a small sample and move around a lot from month to month. The Bureau cautions that it takes four months to establish a trend for new houses sold, and that preliminary figures are revised, so one month's rise should be read lightly.

How it fits with the other housing data

New home sales are counted when a deposit is taken or a contract signed, so they lead existing home sales, which count closings (report). Housing starts, from the same Bureau, were 2.6% lower in August (report), and builders' confidence is covered in the NAHB index (report). The S&P Cotality Case-Shiller index put national home prices 1.9% higher in the year to July (report).

For markets, housing responds quickly to mortgage rates, which follow the 10-year Treasury yield; it closed at 5.29% on 30 September (report). The Census Bureau publishes September's new home sales on 27 October. How the 10-year yield moves forex explains the link to currencies. Live prices: EUR/USD.