FX.co ★ U.S. New Home Sales Spike To Highest Level In Over A Year In July

A report from the Commerce Department on Friday revealed a notable rise in new home sales across the United States for July.

According to the report, new home sales surged by 10.6 percent, reaching an annual rate of 739,000 in July. This follows a modest increase of 0.3 percent in June, with an upwardly revised annual rate of 668,000.

Economists had predicted a 2.1 percent increase in new home sales, forecasting an annual rate of 630,000, up from the previously reported 617,000 for the past month.

This unexpected surge pushed new home sales to their highest annual rate since reaching 741,000 in May 2023.

The increase was primarily driven by a significant boost in the Western region, where new home sales jumped by 33.8 percent to an annual rate of 194,000.

Other regions also saw considerable gains: the Midwest and Northeast experienced increases of 9.9 percent and 6.9 percent, respectively. In the South, new home sales rose by 2.9 percent.

The report further highlighted the median sales price for new homes in July, which was $429,800. This reflects a 3.1 percent rise from June's $416,700 but a 1.4 percent decline from $435,800 in July of the previous year.

Additionally, the available inventory of new homes at the end of July was estimated at 462,000 units, representing 7.5 months of supply at the current sales pace. This is a decrease from June's 8.4 months of supply but an increase from 7.3 months in July 2024.

In a separate report, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) noted a rebound in existing home sales in July, ending a four-month decline.

The NAR report indicated that existing home sales rose by 1.3 percent, reaching an annual rate of 3.95 million in July. This recovery follows a steep drop of 5.1 percent in June, down to a revised rate of 3.90 million.

Economists had anticipated a 1.0 percent increase in existing home sales, projecting an annual rate of 3.93 million, compared to the original 3.89 million reported for the previous month.