Sales of US new homes dipped 2.9 per cent in July, but were still ahead of expectations because June's record high sales pace was even greater than believed, a US government report showed today.
The US Commerce Department said sales of new single-family homes slipped to a seasonally adjusted 1.165 million annual rate - the second highest pace on record - from an upwardly revised 1.200 million rate in June.
Inventories equaled June's record low of 3.5 months' supply of homes available for sale at the current sales pace.
Buyers snapped up new homes at a record high rate in the South, the nation's largest market for new homes, posting a seasonally adjusted annualized 572,000 rate.
The busy US housing market has been a bright spot in an otherwise struggling US economy as mortgage interest rates slipped to lows not seen since the 1960s.
But a recent climb in interest rates - the 30-year fixed rate mortgage has jumped more than 1 per cent to 6.28 per cent from June's lows - is expected to eventually slow housing activity.