The marketing of newly built single-family homes in the United States stood in September at an annualized rate of 676,000 units. This figure represents a setback of 0.6% compared to August and a decrease of 5.3% compared to the volume recorded in September of the previous year, according to estimates published by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Regarding prices, the median sale price of new homes closed in September was $400,400 (€357,552), which implies a drop of 3.9% compared to the amount in September 2025. In turn, the average sale price in September 2026 was $472,800 (€422,204), 6.7% less than in the same month of the previous year.
On the other hand, the stock of new homes available at the end of September 2026 reached 476,000 units. This amount represents a decline of 1% on a monthly basis and 2.3% in year-on-year terms, and is considered sufficient to meet demand for 8.4 months at the current transaction pace.
The evolution of the U.S. residential market thus reflects the impact of rising mortgage financing costs. The average rate of 30-year fixed mortgages has remained above 7% since the end of September, according to Freddie Mac records, which represents the highest cost level since 2023.
In detail, the average interest on a 30-year fixed mortgage was 7.32% last week, slightly below the 7.40% recorded in the previous two weeks, but still more than one percentage point above the level observed a year earlier.
"The data from the real estate market in general suggests persistent weakness," commented Matthew Martin, senior economist for the U.S. at Oxford Economics, who believes that higher mortgage rates exacerbate the situation of a market "already inaccessible to many buyers," which will continue to shift sales toward lower-priced properties and slow down home appreciation.
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported last week that the Pending Home Sales Index, used as a leading indicator of future transactions of existing homes, fell 7.3% month-on-month in September and 11.3% compared to the same month of the previous year.
In fact, the reading of 66 points recorded by the index in September was the lowest in the entire historical series, which began in 2001, highlighting the widespread weakness across all areas of the country.
In parallel, the official statistic on the start of construction of new homes in the US showed that in September an annual adjusted rate of 1.22 million units was reached, which implies a contraction of 5.2% compared to August and 7.4% year-on-year.
Likewise, the permits for new housing construction stood in September at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.4 million, 0.2% below the August figure and 3% less than in September 2025.