**MNI 5 THINGS: US New Home Sales Lower Than Expected>

By Kevin Kastner, Shikha Dave, and Harrison Clarke

     WASHINGTON (MNI) - The following are the key points from the 

July new residential sales data released Thursday by the Commerce 

Department: 

     - July new home sales saw a 1.7% decrease to 627k SAAR, below the 

649k expected. However, new home sales saw a 12.8% increase 

year-over-year on a seasonally adjusted basis. New homes sold on a 

year-over-year basis unadjusted saw a 10.4% increase.  

     - The median new home sales price rose 6.0% to $328,700. The 

average sales price rose 6.7% to $394,300. 

     - Sales saw declines of 52.3% in the Northeast and 3.3% in the 

South, offset by increases of 9.9% in the Midwest and 10.9% in the West. 

     - June new home sales saw an upward revision to 638k from 631k, 

while May sales were revised downward to 654k from 666k. 

     - Homes available for sale rose 2.0% to 309k, the highest since 

March 2009's 311k level. Due to the increase in homes for sale and the 

decline in houses sold, the months' supply on the market saw a 3.5% 

increase to 5.9 months, the highest since 6.0 months in August 2017. 

           ** MNI Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 ** 

[TOPICS: MAUDS$,M$U$$$,MAUDR$]