The U.S.
Commerce Department announced on Thursday that the sales of new single-family
homes plunged by 4.7 per cent m-o-m to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 634,000
units in April. This was the lowest reading
since February (631,000).
Economists
had anticipated a sales pace of 680,000 last month.
The March sales
pace was revised down to 665,000 units from the originally reported 693,000
units.
According to
the report, new home sales in the South, the largest area, tumbled by 4.8 per
cent m-o-m in April to 359,000. In addition, new home sales in the Northeast plummeted by 20.9
per cent m-o-m to 34,000 and in the West declined by 7.3 per cent m-o-m to 153,000.
Meanwhile, new home sales in the Midwest climbed by 10.0 per cent m-o-m to 88,000.
Compared to April
2023, new home sales fell by
7.7 per cent.
The report also
revealed that the median sales price increased by 3.9 per cent y-o-y to $433,500
in April, while the average sales price rose by 1.0 per cent y-o-y to $505,700.