US new home sales fell 5.9% in April after big March gain

Sales of new homes fell 5.9% in April, suffering a setback after sales had surged in March

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Sales of new homes fell 5.9% in April, suffering a setback after sales had surged in March.

Sales dropped to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 863,000 last month, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. That followed a revised sales pace of 917,000 in March.

The median price of a new home sold last month was $372,400, up from $310,100 in April 2020.

The report on new home sales follows a report last week that sales of existing homes fell for a third straight month in April, dropping 2.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.85 million units.

Economists see the declines as temporary setbacks with strong demand and low inventories expected to keep pushing sales higher this year.