Sales of New Homes Fall in June

Washington, DC, July 26, 2011 -- Sales of new homes fell 1% in June, according to the Commerce Department.

The government says sales of new homes fell to an annual rate of 312,000. That's less than half the 700,000 homes sold per year that economists say is typical in healthy markets.

Sales fell to record lows in the Northeast and West. The median price of a new home rose to $235,200 in June, up 5.8% from May.