News Bites U.S. new home sales fall short of expectations in March, gold price edges up above $1,900

Gold ticked up as the U.S. new home sales slightly disappointed in March with a drop of 8.6%. The prior month’s number was revised up.

New home sales were at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 763,000 homes in March, the U.S. Commerce Department said on Tuesday. February’s sales were revised up to a rate of 835,000 units.

Market consensus calls estimated for sales to decline to 765,000 units in March.

On an annual basis, new home sales were down 12.6% from last year’s estimate of 873,000 units.

Looking at home prices, the report said that the median sales price for homes sold last month was $436,700, while the average price was $523,900.

As of the end of March, the inventory of houses for sale was at 407,000, representing a 6.4-month supply at the current sales rate.

Gold edged up following the release of the data, with June Comex gold futures last trading at $1,906.60, up 0.56% on the day.

Despite the monthly drop, the pace of new home sales is still above pre-pandemic norms, said CIBC Capital Markets senior economist Katherine Judge.

“The drop coincides with a cooling in other housing market activity indicators as the surge in mortgage rates has caused mortgage applications and home purchase intentions to drop off, along with existing home sales,” Judge said.

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