US new home sales fall by more than expected in August

New home selling activity in the U.S. slowed last month, even as the supply of houses available to be sold increased.

According to the Department of Commerce, in seasonally adjusted terms the annual rate of new home sales dropped by 8.7% over the month in August to reach 675,000 (consensus: 700,000).

However, that weaker-than-expected reading was offset by an upwards revision to the prior month's estimate from 714,000 to 739,000.

The supply of new homes available for sale meanwhile increased to 7.8 months' worth of sales, in comparison to 7.0 months' worth in July.

In parallel, the median sales price of a newly solid home slipped to $430,300, versus $436,600 in the month before.

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