National New Home Market Update: February 2023

by zonda

The spring selling season started with a bang. Many consumers on the sidelines have been enticed back to the market by deals provided by homebuilders. Others have come to terms with the state of the market and the idea that 3% mortgage rates are a thing of the past.

Zonda’s new home sales metric captures this, with activity up 2.2% month-over-month in February following a strong January. Some of the hardest-hit markets in the western U.S. are showing notable improvements, while sales in the east range from stable to strong.

“Housing demand showed real-time sensitivity to mortgage rates as they rose throughout February, with many builders reporting stronger demand in the former part of the month compared to the latter,” said Ali Wolf, chief economist for Zonda. “The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank sent mortgage rates back down, though, as investors piled money into government bonds. The new question is – will consumers continue to celebrate the downward move in mortgage rates, or will broader economic concerns push them back to the sidelines?”

Learn More

Read more from Zonda regarding February sales activity.