Existing-home sales are reported as a “seasonally adjusted annual rate” of 3.91 million units in January 2026, an 8.4% month-to-month decline that signals softer buyer execution rather than an evidenced collapse in new-construction demand. The same release indicates the median existing-home price at $396,800, up 0.9% year over year, a profile consistent with pricing resilience amid reduced transaction velocity. Separately, national housing-market data show the median list price at $399,900 in January 2026, unchanged year over year.
These figures, while limited to the resale channel, are often monitored by developers and capital partners because they influence comparable valuations, appraisals, and the feasibility assumptions embedded in pro forma underwriting, particularly where new projects compete with renovated or lightly used stock. The release also reports 31% first-time buyers in January.
Inventory is stated at 1.22 million units for the month, a level that frames the operating environment for brokerage pipelines and, indirectly, for land sellers and builders tracking move-up supply. However, the materials provided do not break out new-build starts, completions, or absorptions, and they contain no unit count near 466, no metric approaching a 57% decline, and no verification of “two fresh project launches” that would typically be accompanied by permitting references, subdivision filings, or sales-center activity.
As a result, any direct linkage between January’s resale slowdown and purported new-launch performance remains uncorroborated within the evidentiary record. The broader context shows first-time buyers represent only 21% of transactions over the trailing twelve months ending June 2025, well below the historic average of 38% observed since 1981, a structural headwind that constrains entry-level absorption across both resale and new-construction channels.
To evaluate the headline claim, an analyst would require primary new-home series, such as the U.S. Census Bureau New Residential Sales report or comparable new-construction trackers, to reconcile unit volumes, percentage changes, and launch counts. Those inputs are absent here for January 2026.
