New-Home Sales in U.S. Cool for Third Month as Prices Surge
Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg
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Sales of new U.S. homes fell for a third straight month and supply swelled to the highest since 2009, suggesting that surging prices are increasingly deterring buyers, according to government data released Friday.
The data point to a general cooling of the new-homes market. At the same time, the upward revision to January’s figure means the market was probably better overall in the first two months of the year than analysts had anticipated. Some of the strength in late 2017 may also reflect increased demand after hurricanes damaged homes in the South.