New home sales weakened in September, the Census Bureau and HUD reported. Sales of new single-family homes edged down 0.6% to 676,000 at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, from a revised 680,000 in August. Sales were 5.3% lower than in September 2025.
Sales totaled 506,000 in January–September 2026, down 2.9% from 521,000 in January–September 2025, on a not seasonally adjusted basis.
The end-of-month estimate for new houses for sale declined 1% to 476,000 from 481,000 in August. It was 2.3% below the September 2025 level of 487,000. Months' supply slipped to 8.4 months from 8.5 months in August, but was 2.4% higher than 8.2 months a year earlier.
The not-seasonally-adjusted inventory included 111,000 completed homes for sale, or 23% of the 480,000 total. Homes under construction made up 53% of the inventory, while homes not yet started accounted for 24%; completed homes had been for sale for a median of 3 months.
The median sales price climbed 3.9% from August to $400,400. It was 3.9% below the September 2025 median of $416,800. The average sales price ticked up 0.4% from August to $472,800 and was 6.7% below a year earlier. Homes priced under $300,000 made up 20% of sales, those priced from $300,000 to $499,999 accounted for 50%, and homes priced at $500,000 and over represented 31%.
The Northeast jumped 28% from August to 32,000 homes sold, the largest monthly gain. The West surged 21.4% to 142,000. The Midwest dropped 7.3% to 89,000. The South decreased 6.6% to 413,000.
From a year earlier, Northeast sales rose 10.3%. Midwest sales sank 8.2%. South sales dipped 0.7%. West sales tumbled 17.4%. Through January–September, Northeast sales increased 2.3%. Midwest sales were 0.5% lower. South sales were 1.3% lower, while West sales slumped 9.2%.