Sales of new US homes cool in July but beat expectations

New home sales in the United States slipped in July but by less than expected by analysts, government data showed Monday, as mortgage rates inched down in the month.
Sales of new US homes were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 652,000, according to the Department of Commerce, down slightly from June’s revised figure of 656,000.
This was above the 630,000 level that a consensus forecast of analysts anticipated according to Briefing.com, but still notably lower than the rate a year ago.
Property sales in the world’s biggest economy have been weighed down by affordability concerns in recent years, with mortgage rates jumping as the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates. Mortgage rates have since hovered at significantly higher levels than before.
This meant that existing homeowners became reluctant to enter the housing market after locking down lower mortgage rates previously.
Some buyers have been nudged into the market for new homes as a result, bolstering sales somewhat, but the overall market remained under pressure.
In July, the median sales price of new houses sold was $403,800, edging down from June’s figure of $407,200, the Commerce Department report said.
Analysts generally warn that new home sales are volatile, and they account for a small size of the overall market.
A separate industry report released last week showed that sales of previously owned homes jumped in July.
But even though slightly lower mortgage rates helped with cost worries, the National Association of Realtors warned that turnover remained sluggish.
The popular 30-year fixed-rate mortgage hovered around 6.7 percent in July, down slightly from 6.8 percent or so in June.