US new home sales declined in December while builders reduced inventory bloat
US new home sales fell 1.7 percent in December as builders cleared inventory. Declining mortgage rates are expected to provide a lift to the housing market.
Sales of new single-family homes in the U.S. 
US fell 1.7% in December to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 745,000 units. This decline in the U.S. single-family housing sector was reported alongside shifts in supply dynamics and a notable drop in prevailing mortgage rates. The data, released by the Commerce Department's Census Bureau, arrived following a delay caused by a government shutdown.
US fell 1.7% in December to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 745,000 units. This decline in the U.S. single-family housing sector was reported alongside shifts in supply dynamics and a notable drop in prevailing mortgage rates. The data, released by the Commerce Department's Census Bureau, arrived following a delay caused by a government shutdown.The report highlighted a contraction in available housing, with new-home inventory falling to 472,000 units. Furthermore, the number of homes under construction reached its lowest level in nearly four and a half years. These factors contributed to the months' supply of new homes declining to 7.6, a metric that tracks how long it would take to exhaust current inventory at the present sales pace.
