Sales of new single-family homes plunged 11.5% to a 468,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate in September, according to data released by the Commerce Department Monday.
The decrease came after a revised 5.2% gain to a 529,000 rate in August, originally reported as a 6.7% increase to 552,000.
Thomson Reuters’ poll of economists had predicted a 550,000 sales level for September.
Sales of new homes were 2.0% better than the 459,000 rate in September 2014, Commerce said.
The supply of new homes at the current sales rate grew to 5.8 months from 4.9 months.
At the end of September, the number of new homes on the market grew to 225,000 from 216,000.
The unadjusted average price of a new single-family home climbed to $364,100 from $343,000.
Meanwhile, the unadjusted median price rose to $296,900 from $289,100 in the previous month.
Sales decreased in all four regions of the country in the month.
Sales in the Northeast were down 61.8% to 13,000 from 34,000 and sales in the West fell 6.7% to 126,000 from 135,000. Sales in the South were off 8.7% to 274,000 from 300,000, and Midwest sales slid 8.3% to 55,000 from 60,000.
