Sales of new U.S. single-family homes fell in August, but lower mortgage rates and home prices could stimulate demand in coming months.
The Commerce Department's Census Bureau said Wednesday that new home sales last month fell 4.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 710,600. The July sales pace was revised upward to 751,000 from the previously reported 739,000.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected new-home sales, which account for more than 10% of U.S. home sales, to fall to 700,000. New-home sales are counted when a contract is signed but can fluctuate from month to month. Sales in August were up 9.8% from a year earlier.
The average interest rate on the popular 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 6.09% last week from 6.20% the previous week, the lowest since February 2023, according to data from mortgage lender Freddie Mac.
Last week, the Fed cut its benchmark for overnight interest rates by 50 basis points to a range of 4.75% to 5%.
The median price of a new home fell 4.6% from a year ago to $420,600 in August.
