US new home sales decline 7.6% in August

According to data released by the US Commerce Department, new U.S. single-family home sales witnessed their biggest fall in almost a year in August after reaching nine-year highs in July. Analysts commented that despite the steep fall, the trend is still positive as the overall level of sales is still high, with August sales being the second highest since 2008.

New home sales fell 7.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 609,000 units while sales were up by 20.6% from a year ago.

Analysts remarked that the high level of sales, including the nine-year high seen in July, shows good underlying demand for new homes and that they believe the economy will continue to grow at a quicker pace than the first half of the year.