New home sales sink 9.4%

Sales of new single-family homes fell dramatically in July, according to stats released Wednesday morning by the U.S. Census department.

New home sales declined 9.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 571,000. That’s below the upwardly revised June rate of 630,000, and also below the year-ago rate of 627,000. The July figures are the lowest since December of 2016, when the SAAR stood at 548,000.

The disappointing data will do nothing to abet concerns over the speed of the housing market’s recovery. The Census data followed by a few days a residential construction report that showed a decline in new residential construction.

 Analysts had expected the new sales figures to fall in the 610,000 range.

 [See the government release here.]

As sales declined, the median sale price of new houses sold in July increased to $313,700, that’s up from $311,600 in the prior month. The average sales price for a new home was $371,200, which was also up slightly from the previous month.

The August report for new home sales is slated to be released Sept. 26.