If you’ve been waiting for more options in your home search, August brought some good news. New home sales ticked up last month as more houses hit the market, builders launched promotions, and incentives helped ease affordability challenges.
According to Zonda’s August New Home Market Update, new home transactions rose 2.1% from July. A big reason? Inventory climbed 10.8% year-over-year, giving buyers more choices than they’ve had in a while. Builders also rolled out sales campaigns and discounts to keep momentum going.
And while August sales were encouraging, September could bring even more relief. Mortgage rates dipped below 6.5% for much of the month – a small but meaningful shift after hovering closer to 7%.
“Moving from 7% to 6.5% mortgage rates puts 2.1 million more households in a position to buy,” said Ali Wolf, chief economist for NewHomeSource. “If rates were to fall to 6%, that number more than doubles.”
What it Means for New Home Buyers: For shoppers who’ve been waiting for the best time to purchase a new home, this shift signals real opportunity, but changes in buyer behavior will take some time to ramp up.
Market Highlights
Where sales are growing: Zonda’s new home sales metric counts the number of new home sales contracts each month, and accounts for cancellations and seasonality.
Nationally, about 703,000 new homes sold on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis in August. Some markets stood out more than others: Salt Lake City, Jacksonville, and Raleigh posted the strongest year-over-year gains, while Sacramento, Charlotte, and Tampa saw the biggest slowdowns.
Sales momentum picked up in August: One way to track buyer demand is through Zonda’s Pending Sales Index, which looks at both how many homes sold and how quickly communities are selling. In August, the index climbed 5% compared to July – showing a bit of renewed momentum – but it’s still down nearly 4% compared to last year and well below the market’s recent peak.
Salt Lake City, Utah, Jacksonville, Florida, and Raleigh, North Carolina posted the best year-over-year results, while Sacramento, California, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Tampa, Florida performed the worst.
Market still “average” overall: Zonda also ranks markets with its Market Ranking Index, a way of showing whether conditions are running hotter or cooler than normal. Nationally, August scored 108.9, consistent with an average market in 2025. Among the top 50 markets, about a third were overperforming, 42% were average, and about a quarter were underperforming.
Prices and incentives: Entry-level home prices fell 1.1% to just under $325,000, while move-up and high-end homes rose to $517,561 and $923,420 respectively. Forty-two percent of builders lowered prices in August, and many buyers are still finding relief via widespread builder incentives.
Nearly 60% of new communities offered incentives on to-be-built homes in August, and 78% advertised incentives on QMI homes. For buyers, this means negotiating power is still very real, especially in areas where inventory is up.
Inventory trends: Buyers have a few more options to choose from these days. Across the country, there are now more than 16,700 neighborhoods actively selling new homes, a 10% jump from last year.
Hoping to move quickly? Quick move-in (QMI) homes totaled 41,417, up 25.3% from last year but slightly lower than July. 42% of builders lowered prices in August, compared with 33% in July. If you’re looking for a QMI, check out the highest increased year-over-year markets: Washington, D.C. (+193.6%), Seattle, Washington (+155.6), and Baltimore, Maryland (+137.5).
What’s more, actively selling community counts have risen for nine straight months, QMI supply is significantly higher (81.6%) than in 2019.
What Buyers Should Do Now
If you’re considering a new home purchase, the current market presents both challenges and openings, as Zonda’s national market index points to an “average” housing market. But with more communities selling, inventory steadily climbing, and mortgage rates inching down, conditions are slowly shifting in buyers’ favor. Here are four tips on how to approach the market:
Watch mortgage rates closely. Timing your purchase around a favorable rate could make a big difference.
Look for incentives and price drops. Builders are cutting prices and offering perks at a higher pace than earlier this year, so take advantage where you can.
Explore quick move-ins. These homes often come with stronger incentives and can help you avoid construction delays.
Stay flexible on location. Some markets are outperforming, while others are softening. If you’re open to moving metros, you may find better deals.
The bottom line: While the housing market still isn’t easy, buyers today are finding more paths to homeownership than they did just a few months ago.
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