-->New home sales fall a second month
July sales fall 6.4%, June much weaker than first thought

By Gregory Robb, CBS Marketwatch.com
Last Update: 10:00 AM ET Aug. 25, 2004


WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) - The housing market was not immune from the soft patch that the economy hit this summer, according to government figures released Wednesday.



Sales of new homes in the United States fell 6.4 percent in July to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1.13 million, the Commerce Department estimated Wednesday.

There was also a large downward revision to June sales.

The department said sales fell a revised 5.6 percent in June to 1.21 million units, compared with the initial estimate of a 0.8 percent drop to 1.31 million units.

As a result, the level of new home sales in July is well below expectations. Economists surveyed by CBS MarketWatch were expecting a sales rate of about 1.29 million in July.

The number of new homes for sale on the market rose about 4.2 percent to 393,000, representing 4.2-months of sales at the July pace.

New-home sales fell sharply in the Northeast and South in July, but rose to record high levels in the Midwest. Sales in the West were down slightly.

The median sales price rose 9.0 percent year-over-year to $207,400, but was down 2.6 percent from June.

The National Association of Realtors reported earlier this week that sales of previously owned homes fell 2.9 percent in July. NAR economists predicted that the home market would remain strong as long as mortgage rates did not spike higher.

Earlier, the Commerce Department reported that durable goods rose 1.7 percent in July. See full story.

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