"While demand for new homes remains strong, high prices and backlogs in construction will temper sales in the months ahead," said Nancy Vanden Houten, a U.S. economist at Oxford Economics in New York. "Homebuilders are reportedly turning away buyers as they attempt to reduce the backlog of sales."
WASHINGTON: Sales of new U.S. single-family homes increased in July after three straight monthly declines, but housing market momentum is slowing as surging housing prices amid tight supply sideline some first-time buyers from the market.
Though the report from the Commerce Department on Tuesday showed a big increase in new housing inventory, the jump was driven by a record rise in homes that are yet to be built. Builders are taking longer to complete houses, hobbled by expensive raw materials as well as scarce land and workers.
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