New home sales in the United States fell 12.8% in July



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WASHINGTON (AP) – New home sales in the United States fell 12.8% in July, but the decline came after June sales posted the strongest growth in 12 years.

The Commerce Department announced Friday that new homes were being sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 635,000 units. This is down from the revised June rate of 728,000. So far this year, sales have increased by 4.1%, a sign that buyers are starting to react to lower mortgage rates.

The volatility of home sales reflects greater uncertainty in the housing market. Buyers have been eager to take advantage of historically low wage growth and mortgage rates. The average rate of a 30-year loan has dropped to 3.55% this week, according to Freddie Mac, a mortgage buyer. Revisions to the June figure, combined with a rebound in existing home sales in July according to data released by the National Association of Realtors, show that sales are responding well to lower borrowing costs.

However, precipitation has further limited stocks at a time when new construction is limited. Robert Frick, a business economist with the Navy Federal Credit Union, said that while the revised June figures were a positive sign for the market, low inventories remained the main problem driving the growth of home sales.

"The average selling price of a new home was $ 388,000, and half of homebuyers are looking for a home less than $ 300,000. Until more homes and cheaper condos hit the market, millions of Americans will be excluded from homeownership, "Frick said.

A strong 50% increase in sales in the Northeast was offset by declines in the West, Central West and South this month.

The median selling price fell to $ 312,800. This represents a 4.5% drop from last year, but is the highest level since April.

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