The 716,000 per-year rate of new-home sales topped the consensus estimate of 700,000. 

The 2.5% decline followed a 1.3% increase in July, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. 

Specifically, prices rose 4.3% annually after growing by 4.7% in June. 

July’s seasonally adjusted annual rate of 739,000 represented a 10.6% jump from June’s upwardly revised rate of 668,000. 

The pace of home sales increased 1.3% from June after months of decreases, the National Association of REALTORS® said.      

The National Association of REALTORS® said its Pending Home Sales Index rose 4.8% month over month. 

The record-breaking sales price comes as the pace of transactions slid from April, the National Association of REALTORS® said. 

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index has hit a new record for six of the last 12 months, as demand remains strong in the face of tight inventory.

At the same time, the median price of a new home sold in April declined as well. 

New-home construction jumped 5.7% month over month after a soft March, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. 

Sales rose 9.5% from January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.38 million.

The median existing-home price for all housing types was $379,100, up 5.1% from $360,800 a year before.       

Single-family home sales prices increased in 189 out of 221 metro areas analyzed, with the median single-family price in the country rising 3.5% year over year to $391,700.

Pending home sales rose 8.3% month over month, the National Association of REALTORS® said, marking the largest monthly jump since 2020. 

Declining interest rates spurred the increase. 

At the same time, the median sales price rose 4.4% to $382,600.