New home sales in the United States fell by 17.6% in January 2026 to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 587,000 units, sharply reversing from an increase to 720,000. This marked the steepest monthly decline since 2013 and the lowest sales pace since 2022. The downturn occurred despite a retreat in benchmark mortgage rates to their lowest levels in more than three years, with part of the weakness attributed to severe winter storms earlier in the year that kept prospective buyers from attending property viewings.
Regionally, sales plunged in the Northeast (-44% to 26,000) and the Midwest (-33.9% to 72,000), areas that were among the hardest hit by the winter storms. Sales also declined in the West (-21.6% to 127,000) and in the South (-8.1% to 362,000).
