US new home sales slump in January

Sales of new single-family homes in the US fell more than expected in January, official data published on Wednesday showed.

According to figures released by the Commerce Department, new home sales fell 9.2% from December to a seasonally-adjusted rate of 494,000 from an unrevised 544,000 in December.

This was weaker than economists’ expectations for a rate of 520,000, 5.2% lower than January 2015 and marked the lowest reading since October.

Sales in the West tumbled 32.1% to 110,000 - their lowest level since July 2014 - while sales in the Northeast rose 3.4%.

The median price of a new home was $278,800, down from a revised $295,800 the previous month.