New Homes: Months of Supply
The ratio of new houses for sale to new houses sold, expressed as months of inventory at the current sales rate — the Census Bureau's core supply-demand balance gauge for the new-construction market, monthly since 1963.
Months of supply
Next release: Sep 24, 2026
Latest reading
As of July 2026, Months Supply (Months of supply) stands at 9.6 mo — up from 8.5 mo the prior reading, 21% below the January 2009 record of 12.2 mo. Around 4-6 months is a balanced market. Readings above ~8 months signal serious oversupply — the metric spent 2008-2009 above 10 — while below 4 months marks a seller's market. Supply spikes can come from either rising inventory or collapsing sales; the under-construction pipeline tells you which. Series history runs from 1963 to present.
Sources, methodology & freshnessLast updated 2026-09-04 · Open ↓Close ↑
Full history
Methodology & data
Months Supply is sourced from Census via the Federal Reserve's FRED service (US Census Bureau via FRED (MSACSR), monthly, seasonally adjusted). We pull the complete history, chart it on a monthly basis, overlay SPY for context, and generate a dated plain-English reading from the latest release — with no smoothing or adjustment beyond what the chart legend states.
Every reading is stamped with its release date, last updated 2026-09-04. Maintained and reviewed by Yuriy Matso; see our methodology for the standards every series on the site is held to.
Frequently asked questions
What is the New Homes: Months of Supply?
The ratio of new houses for sale to new houses sold, expressed as months of inventory at the current sales rate — the Census Bureau's core supply-demand balance gauge for the new-construction market, monthly since 1963.
How do you read Months Supply?
Around 4-6 months is a balanced market. Readings above ~8 months signal serious oversupply — the metric spent 2008-2009 above 10 — while below 4 months marks a seller's market. Supply spikes can come from either rising inventory or collapsing sales; the under-construction pipeline tells you which.
Where does the Months Supply data come from?
US Census Bureau via FRED (MSACSR), monthly, seasonally adjusted. We chart the full history and publish a dated, plain-English reading with every release; the raw series is downloadable as CSV at /data/indicators/new-home-months-supply.csv.
How often is Months Supply updated?
Months Supply is a monthly series from Census, refreshed here as soon as a new release posts to FRED.
Months of supply
Next release: Sep 24, 2026