WASHINGTON, Sept 24 (Reuters) – New single-family home sales in the United States reached an eight-month high in August as buyers took advantage of price discounts and other incentives, although the rise in mortgage rates stemming from the war in the Middle East continued to pose a hurdle for the housing market.
New home sales rose 6.4% in the month, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 684,000 units, the highest level since December 2025, the Census Bureau of the Commerce Department said on Thursday. July data were revised higher, showing that sales fell to a rate of 643,000 units, instead of the 607,000 previously reported.
Economists surveyed by Reuters had forecast a rise to a rate of 615,000 units. New-home sales are counted at the contract signing, which makes them the most up-to-date indicators of housing demand, although they represent a small share of overall U.S. home sales.
Sales declined 2.0% in August from the same month a year earlier.
The U.S. and Israel’s war against Iran is lifting energy prices, pushing up yields on longer-dated Treasuries and mortgage rates. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate jumped by nearly 100 basis points since the start of the war, by the end of February.
It averaged 6.95% last week, the highest level since January 2025, according to data from Freddie Mac, the mortgage-finance company.
