WASHINGTON — Sales of new single-family houses fell 13.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 394,000 in July, the Commerce Department reported Friday.
The slower sales pace followed a revised June rate of 455,000, originally reported as 497,000, and was 6.8% above the July 2012 rate of 369,000.
The July rate was lower than the median 490,000 rate projected by economists polled by Thomson Reuters.
Sales fell 5.7% in the Northeast, 12.9% in the Midwest, 13.4% in the South, and 16.1% in the West.
The median sales price of new houses fell to $257,200 in July, 0.5% below the revised June median price of $258,500, originally reported as $249,700. On a year-over-year basis, the median price climbed 8.3% above $237,400 in July 2012.
The average sales price in July was $322,700, up 6.8% from $302,200 in June.
The seasonally adjusted estimate of new homes for sale at the end of July was 171,000, a 4.3% increase from June's revised supply of 164,000, originally reported as 161,000. The July figure represents a supply of 5.2 months at the current sales rate, up from 4.3 months in June.
