- Pope appeals for halt to DR Congo violence
- England begin quest to deliver on great expectations at Euro 2024
- Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia crowned Australian Open badminton champion
- Israel announces daily Gaza 'pause' for aid deliveries
- UK 'guinea pig' for election security before landmark votes
- Hajj pilgrims 'stone the devil' as Muslims mark Eid al-Adha
- Titmus and McKeown carry Australian Olympic swim hopes in bid to topple US
- Senegalese eye elegance for Eid at half the price
- Israel's 'economic war' chokes occupied West Bank
- Chinese Premier Li toasts warming trade ties in Australia
- Australia sink brave Scots at T20 World Cup, England advance
- Oilers rout Panthers to keep NHL Stanley Cup alive
- Trump boasts of cognitive test, then flubs doctor's name
- China to replace Australia's popular giant pandas
- Gaza tests historic bond between UK Muslims and Labour
- UK election picks over 14 years of Conservative rule
- Scotland 180-5 against Australia in T20 World Cup
- Pavon tries to snap 117-year French drought with US Open win
- Foreign-born pandas join China's efforts to boost wild population
- Shunned by West, Russian army deserters live in fear
- Gretchen Walsh sets 100m fly world record at US Olympic swimming trials
- Biden holds LA fundraiser as Trump courts Michigan
- Chinese Premier Li touts trade in rare Australia visit
- Gretchen Walsh sets 100m butterfly world record at US Olympic swimming trials
- DeChambeau leads US Open by three after birdie spree
- Young Chiefs forward Sititi touted for All Blacks call-up
- Aussie Kim moves clear at LPGA Meijer Classic
- Italy begin Euro 2024 title defence with win as Spain start in style
- England stay alive in T20 World Cup with rain-hit win over Namibia
- La Rochelle set up Top 14 semi-final against Toulouse
- Pavon grabs US Open lead with sizzling start at Pinehurst
- Italy 'too comfortable' in Albania win, says Spalletti
- England set Namibia 127 in crunch rain-hit T20 World Cup game
- Italy recover from disastrous start to win Euro 2024 opener
- Zelensky seeks internationally agreed peace plan to present to Russia
- Sri Lanka's Mathews admits 'we let country down' at T20 World Cup
- Raducanu edges ahead before bad light halts all-British semi-final
- Van Dijk says poor pitch for Dutch Euros opener 'a shame'
- England bat in rain-hit must-win T20 World Cup game against Namibia
- Spain coach says 'staying calm is power' after big Croatia win
- Aberg chases US Open debut win while Scheffler struggles
- Albania's Bajrami scores fastest ever Euros goal after 23 seconds
- Pakistan needs major change after reaching 'lowest point' says Imad Wasim
- Croatia coach Dalic 'apologises' for poor start to Euro 2024
- Venezuela opposition reports arbitrary detentions ahead of election
- Spain begin Euro 2024 in style, Switzerland win
- Messi spearheads Argentina's Copa America defence
- England have earned right to be Euro 2024 favourites: Kane
- Spain romp past Croatia in opener as Yamal makes Euros history
- Rain delays England's must-win T20 World Cup game against Namibia
US new home sales miss expectations in April
Sales of new US homes were weaker than analysts expected in April, government data showed Thursday, with slower mortgage demand appearing to bog down the number of transactions.
New single-family home sales came in at an annual rate of 634,000 last month, seasonally adjusted, down 4.7 percent from March's 665,000 rate, said the Commerce Department.
The figure for March was revised lower, while April's numbers were below a Briefing.com consensus forecast of 680,000.
Home sales have taken a hit since the Federal Reserve raised the benchmark lending rate rapidly in 2022 to curb surging inflation.
But significantly higher mortgage rates have also made homeowners reluctant to sell their properties, leading to tighter supply and pushing buyers into the market for new construction.
While a 30-year fixed-rate US mortgage averaged around three percent in May 2021, the average rate as of May 16 was around 7.0 percent.
This has given the new homes market a boost in past months.
Compared with the same period a year ago, however, sales of new homes were 7.7 percent lower in April.
The median sales price was $433,500, slightly lower than in March, the Commerce Department said.
While sales data can be volatile and revised later, the April selling pace was lower than the first quarter average of 653,000, noted Rubeela Farooqi, chief US economist at High Frequency Economics.
"The new home sales report completes a trifecta of bad news in housing this week," said economist Robert Frick of the Navy Federal Credit Union.
"Building is anemic, existing home sales missed estimates and now new home sales had a big drop and remain tepid overall," he added in a statement.
While lower interest rates will support builders and buyers, this is "especially because we need robust building to make up for weak construction in the 2010s," Frick said.
Economist Oliver Allen of Pantheon Macroeconomics expects mortgage rates to decline in the coming quarters, "partly in response to a softening labor market."
"That would be a mixed blessing for home sales since it would reduce the pool of potential homebuyers," he said.
J.Bergmann--BTB