Census Bureau · Survey of Construction
U.S. New Home Sales, 1963–2024
Annual new single-family home sales from the U.S. Census Bureau, 1963 to present. The series peaked at 1.28 million units in 2005 and bottomed at 306,000 in 2011 — a four-fold drawdown that took builders most of a decade to walk back.
Notable Cycles
Four genuine peaks, four wholly different recoveries.
New construction is the more cyclical half of the U.S. housing market. From the 2005 peak of 1.28M, sales fell 76% to 306K by 2011 — the deepest builder downturn since the Great Depression. The current cycle has yet to reclaim 2005 levels.Definitions
- Sales
units, K or M - Price
median, current $ - Rate
30-yr fixed, % APR - SAAR
Census - EHS
NAR - PMMS
Freddie Mac - Recession
NBER monthly