New home sales in the South wrapped up 2024 on a down note, with a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 423,000 in December. This marked a 2.1% decline from November, though it was still the fifth-highest monthly total of the year.
- Year-over-year, sales in the region edged up slightly by 0.5%, underscoring a market that remained stable despite mounting challenges.
Mixed Month: December was a study in contrasts across the U.S. housing market. While the South and Midwest saw sales dip — with the latter slipping by 3.3% — the Northeast and West experienced explosive growth. Sales in the Northeast surged by 41.7%, and the West saw a 20.3% jump.
- These regional gains helped propel the national index upward by 3.6% in December, the highest level since September and well above the 0.4% rise economists had anticipated.
Inventory: Nationally, the uptick in December’s numbers capped off a year of uneven performance for the housing market. Inventory levels tightened slightly, with the months’ supply of new homes falling to 8.5 months by year-end.
Holding Strong: The South, which historically drives a significant share of national sales, recorded 411,000 total new home sales for 2024 — just shy of the 412,000 sold in 2023 but comfortably ahead of 2022’s total of 392,000.
Bottom Line: New home sales continue to remain strong in the South.
