Traffics of new U.S. single-family homes unexpectedly fell in July to a nine-month low in a sign the covering market was cooling and could give less support to the overall thriftiness.
The Commerce Department said on Thursday new home sales decreased 1.7 percent to a seasonally set annual rate of 627,000 units last month, the lowest unfluctuating since October 2017. June’s sales pace was revised up to 638,000 sections from the previously reported 631,000 units.
Economists polled by Reuters had anticipation new home sales, which account for about 10 percent of shield market sales, rising to a pace of 645,000 units in July.
New bailiwick sales are drawn from permits and tend to be volatile on a month-to-month base. They increased 12.8 percent from a year ago. Housing demand data has weakened in recent months, with home resales taper off in July for a fourth straight month.
The sector has been plagued by take off building material costs and shortages of land and labor, which tease put a squeeze on the supply of houses available for sale and kept house tolls elevated.
Though the moderation in housing is largely driven by supply constraints, there are problems that persistent weakness will eventually spill over to the broader frugality. The housing market has underperformed the economy so far this year.
New home exchanges in the South, which accounts for the bulk of transactions, declined 3.3 percent in July. Exchanges rose 10.9 percent in the West and 9.9 percent in the Midwest. They pitched 52.3 percent in the Northeast to their lowest level since September 2015.
The median new congress price rose 6.0 percent to $328,700 in July from June. There were 309,000 new where it hurts on the market in July, the most since March 2009 and up 2.0 percent from June.