New home sales nationwide plunged in November. Here’s where home sales are headed in Buffalo

New home sales in the US dropped in November as mortgage rates slowly retreated from their highest levels this year.

Sales of newly constructed homes dropped 12.2% in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 590,000 from a revised rate of 672,000 in October, according to a joint report from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Census Bureau. Sales were up just 1.4% from a year ago.

Affordability challenges, particularly with high mortgage rates, likely kept buyers on the sidelines. Typical mortgage rates reached their highest levels in 23 years – hitting 7.79% for a 30-year, fixed-rate loan – and have been coming down since.

At a the prevailing 6.5% interest rate, a family would need an income of nearly $130,000 to be able to afford to purchase the median-priced new home in the U.S., according to calculations from Sturtevant. The median household income in the U.S. is about $75,000.

Check out these charts to see where home sales are trending in Buffalo.