New home sales tumble

The numbers are in for April, and apparently higher mortgage rates are starting to take their toll. As CNN’s Money states

New home sales posted the biggest monthly drop in 10 years in April, coming in much weaker than economists had expected, as rising mortgage rates started biting into the nation’s housing market.

The Commerce Department said new home sales fell to an annual rate of 1.09 million last month, down 11.8 percent from the revised record high rate of nearly 1.24 million in March, when mortgage rates were near a 40-year low.

Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast that sales would fall to an annual rate of about 1.2 million.

However, another survey reported existing home sales were up 2.5%

Existing-home sales increased 2.5 percent in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.64 million units from a level of 6.48 million units in March, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Wall Street expected sales of 6.45 million homes in April, according to Briefing.com.

» New home sales tumble

» Existing home sales up 2.5%