US new home sales beat expectations in June

[WASHINGTON] Sales of new US single-family homes increased more than expected in June as the housing market outperforms the broader economy amid record low interest rates and migration from urban centres to lower-density areas because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Commerce Department said on Friday new home sales rose 13.8 per cent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 776,000 units last month. New home sales are counted at the signing of a contract, making them a leading housing market indicator.

May's sales pace was revised upward to 682,000 units from the previously reported 676,000 units. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast new home sales, which account for more than 10 per cent of housing market sales, rising 4 per cent to a 700,000-unit pace in June.

REUTERS