New home sales for July were reported at 708,000 on a seasonally adjusted annual rate basis (SAAR). Sales for the previous three months were revised up, combined. This was somewhat above consensus expectations for July, but still down 27.2% year-over-year - since sales increased sharply following the early months of the pandemic. The new home sales rate is now slightly below the pre-pandemic level of around 740 thousand (the three months previous to pandemic). This graph shows new home sales for 2020 and 2021 by month (Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate). The year-over-year comparisons were easy in the first half of ... (full story)