US new home sales register sharp slump in April

(Sharecast News) - New home sales in the US fell by far more than economists had anticipated in April.

In seasonally adjusted terms, according to the Department of Commerce, new single-family home sales dropped at a month-on-month pace of 16.6% to reach an annualised pace of 591,000.

Economists had penciled-in a dip from 763,000 (Revised: 709,000) to 750,000.

Versus a year earlier, new single-family home sales were 26.9% lower on the month.

The inventory of homes available for sale meanwhile rose to the equivalent of nine months' worth of sales, up from 6.9.

Average sale prices for a home however jumped from $522,500 to $570,300.

Ferguson