WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Sales of new U.S. single-family homes dropped to a six-month low in May as a jump in mortgage rates weighed on demand, offering more evidence that the housing market recovery was faltering.
New home sales declined 11.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 619,000 units last month, the lowest level since November, the Commerce Department’s Census Bureau said on Wednesday.
The sales pace for April was revised higher to 698,000 units from a previously reported 634,000 units.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast new home sales, which account for more than 10% of U.S. home sales, to edge up to a rate of 640,000 units.
The housing market has hit a soft patch as a resurgence in mortgages also undercut demand for previously owned homes and home building. Residential investment posted double-digit growth in the first quarter.
The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage hit a six-month high of 7.22% in early May before retreating to 7.03% by the end of the month, data from mortgage finance agency Freddie Mac showed.
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
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