New Home Sales Fall 8.1% in June

Washington, DC, July 24, 2014—According to the Commerce Department, sales of newly built homes fell 8.1% in June, losing some momentum after two months of increases. The current annualized pace is tracking at 406,000, indicating that the housing market is struggling to gain traction.

Many Americans continue to opt for renting as median pricing for new homes increased 5.3% last month versus a year ago to $273,500.

The supply of homes at the current sales rate climbed to 5.8 months. There were 197,000 new houses on the market at the end of June, the most since October 2010.

At the same time, confidence among U.S. homebuilders rose more than forecast in July, with the National Association of Home Builders' sentiment climbing to a six-month high of 53.

Mortgage rates are lower than they were at the beginning of the year with a 30-year fixed mortgage average of 4.13% in the week ending July 17.