Sales of new U.S. homes fell in March to a four-month low, indicating high prices and surging borrowing costs are putting more of a squeeze on the market.
Purchases of new single-family homes decreased 8.6% to a 763,000 annualized pace, government data showed Tuesday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a 768,000 rate.
Mortgage rates have sharply escalated as the Federal Reserve signals aggressive steps to combat decades-high inflation. The average for a 30-year loan climbed to 5.11% last week, up two full percentage points from the end of last year and the highest since 2010, the latest Freddie Mac data show.
Jordan Yadoo | Yahoo! Finance