New single-family home sales dropped 5.3 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 631,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
It is the lowest monthly annualized sales pace since October 2017, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).
NAHB credited the sales decline in part to tariffs imposed on construction materials by the U.S. earlier this month.
“Uncertainty caused by tariffs and the talk of trade wars are making home buyers more cautious, and builders are taking note of this situation,” NAHB Chairman Randy Noel said in a statement. “Not only are consumers and builders concerned about the current lumber tariffs, but also the next round of proposed tariffs on a number of goods and services.”
The Trump administration announced a new round of proposed 10 percent tariffs on Chinese lumber in mid-July.
The new housing sales rate in June is 2.4 percent above the June 2017 rate of 616,000, and sales are up 6.9 percent for the first half of 2018 compared with the first half of 2017, according to NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz.
“This indicates solid demand for new home construction,” Dietz said in a statement.
The median sales price of new houses sold in June was $302,100, with the average sales price recorded at $363,300.
The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses available at the end of June was 301,000, a 5.7-month supply at the current sales rate.
Regionally, sales of new homes increased 36.8 percent in the Northeast, but declined elsewhere, falling 13.4 percent in the Midwest, 7.7 percent in the South and 5.2 percent in the West.
