New Home Sales Hit 745k: Is Momentum Building Into 2026? | February 23, 2026

On today’s Hot Sheet, Byron Lazine broke down fresh housing data from Logan Mohtashami’s weekly market tracker, showing pending sales and new listings returning to year-over-year growth as mortgage rates hover near 6% and inventory sits at multiyear highs.

He also reviewed U.S. Census Bureau data showing December new home sales at a 745,000 annual pace with a 7.6-month supply and a $414,400 median price.

For today’s third topic, Byron examined Realtor.com’s look back at the high-rate era, highlighting how the lock-in effect kept prices resilient even as sales slowed and inventory climbed.