The numbers: Sales of newly built homes in the U.S. fell in August as interest rates and home prices stayed elevated, dampening buyer demand.
U.S. new-home sales fell 8.7% to an annual rate of 675,000 in August, from a revised 739,000 in the prior month, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. The number is seasonally adjusted and refers to how many homes would be built over an entire year if builders continued at the same pace every month.
The jump fell short of expectations on Wall Street. Economists had forecast new-home sales to total 695,000 in August.The data from July was revised significantly. New-home sales rose to a revised 739,000 in July, compared with the initial estimate of a 4.4% increase.Market reaction: Stocks DJIA SPX were down in early trading on Tuesday. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note BX:TMUBMUSD10Y was above 4.5%.
Shares of home builders, including D.R. Horton, Inc. DHI, -0.72%, Lennar Corp. LEN, -0.97%, PulteGroup Inc. PHM, -0.45% and Toll Brothers Inc. TOL, -0.85%, were down in the morning trading session.