U.S. new home sales fall to seven-month low

May's sales were revised sharply lower, in what appeared to be a

minor setback for the housing market recovery.

The Commerce Department said on Friday sales declined 6.8

percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 482,000 units,

the lowest level since last November.

May's sales pace was revised down to 517,000 units from the

previously reported 546,000 units. Economists polled by Reuters

had forecast new home sales, which account for 8.1 percent of

the market, to be unchanged last month.

Sales were up 18.1 percent compared to June of last year.

Despite two straight months of declines in new home sales, the

overall housing market recovery remains intact.

A report on Wednesday showed home resales jumped to a more

than eight-year high in June. Data last week showed building

permits near an eight-year peak in June and housing starts

increasing solidly.

New homes sales increased 28 percent in the Northeast after

soaring 78.6 percent in May. Sales fell 17 percent in the West

and were down 11.1 percent in the Midwest. In the South, sales

slipped 4.1 percent.

The stock of new houses for sale increased 3.4 percent to

215,000 last month, the highest since May 2010. Supply remains

less than half of what it was at the height of the housing boom.

At June's sales pace it would take 5.4 months to clear the

supply of houses on the market, the most since last November.

That was up from 4.8 months in May. The median price of a new home fell 1.8 percent from a year ago to $281,800.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Paul Simao)

((lucia.mutikani@thomsonreuters.com; +1 202 898 8315))