Reuters: U.S.: New home sales post biggest drop in over one year

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New home sales post biggest drop in over one year Jul 25th 2012, 14:38 Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Factory, jobs data show economy mired in weakness Thu, Jul 19 2012 Housing starts bright spot for cooling economy Wed, Jul 18 2012 Gasoline prices dampen inflation, Fed action eyed Tue, Jul 17 2012 Wall Street falls, bond yields near record lows Mon, Jul 16 2012 Retail sales fall for third straight month in June Mon, Jul 16 2012 Related Topics U.S. » Housing Market » Houses under construction are seen in Phoenix, Arizona, August 23, 2011. Credit: Reuters/Joshua Lott WASHINGTON | Wed Jul 25, 2012 10:08am EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New single-family home sales in June fell by the most in more than a year and prices resumed their downward trend, suggesting a set back for the budding housing market recovery. The Commerce Department said on Wednesday sales tumbled 8.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted 350,000-unit annual rate, the lowest rate in five months. The percent decline was the largest since February 2011. May's sales pace was revised to up to 382,000 units from the previously reported 369,000 units, taking some of the sting from the report. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast sales at a 370,000-unit rate last month. Compared to June last year, new home sales were up 15.1 percent. The housing market had been improving in recent months, with new home construction in June hitting its highest level since October 2008 and confidence among home builders this month touching its best level in more than 5 years. Last month, the median price of a new home fell 3.2 percent from a year ago, adding to the report's weak tenor. The inventory of new homes on the market increased 0.7 percent to 144,000 in June, but remained near record lows. At June's sales pace it would take 4.9 months to clear the houses from the market, up from 4.5 months in May. New home sales last month dragged down by a 60 percent drop in the Northeast and an 8.6 percent fall in the South. Sales in the West rose 2.1 percent and were up 14.6 percent in the Midwest. (Reporting By Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Neil Stempleman) Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above.

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