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New home sales higher
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August 29, 1997: 10:56 a.m. ET
Sales of new homes rise slightly, helped by low rates, demand in West
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Sales of new homes edged up slightly last month due in part to low mortgage rates and stronger demand in the western United States, the Commerce Department said Friday.
New home sales in July amounted to 817,000 units, up 0.9 percent from a revised figure of 810,000 units in June. Economists had looked for the July figure to be 819,000 units.
The bond market reacted strongly after the release of the figures, dropping 11/32, pushing the yield higher to 6.59 percent.
Sales for 1997 are up 7.4 percent from the same period in 1996. Low mortgage rates contributed to this year's increase in new home sales, Commerce said.
The number of new homes on the market for sale in July remained at an estimated 287,000.
Home sales in the West showed the largest gains, rising 11 percent in July to a 253,000 annual rate, its highest level in almost four years.
Everywhere else, new home sales slowed, with the Midwest dropping the most, down 5.1 percent to an annual rate of 149,000 units. Sales in the Northeast fell 4.3 percent to 66,000 units while home sales in the South were 2.5 percent lower to 348,000.
The median price of a new home rose about $3,000 to $146,700 in July from $143,800 in June.
-- Randy Schultz
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