US new home sales dropped 10.5% in January

(Sharecast News) - US new home sales fell to their lowest in three months in January after falling more than expected, according to figures out on Wednesday from the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Sales of new single-family houses totalled 657,000 last month, down 10.5% from the revised December rate of 734,000, which was up 8.1% on November.

This was below the 664,000 sold in January 2024 and under the consensus forecast of 680,000.

The West was the only region to register monthly growth, with sales 7.7% higher at 167,000. Sales across the Northeast dropped by 20% to just 28,000, by 16.7% in the Midwest to 70,000 and by 14.8% in the South to 392,000.



However, the data also showed that new houses for sale at the end of January totalled 495,000, representing a supply of nine months at the current sales rate and the highest number since December 2007.