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Builder Incentives Kept April Home Sales Strong

Posted To: MND NewsWire

As was reported last week, new home sales in April were much, much better than expected. There may or may not be a cause and effect going on here, but two recent posts in the National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB's) Eye on Housing blog indicate that builders are at least trying to preserve some market momentum. While builder confidence cratered in April and housing starts declined, Rose Quint reports that there is anecdotal evidence that builders were lowering the prices of newly constructed homes in April and that more than half report making sales accommodations in May. The latest NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) survey shows that about 22 percent of builders cut home prices in April 2020 in order to bolster sales and/or limit cancellations. Regionally, builders in the South...(read more)