Sales of new-build homes in the United States fell unexpectedly in July. The US Department of Commerce reported this.

Sales fell by 12.8 percent on a monthly basis, to a pace of 635,000 homes measured on an annual basis. Economists generally assumed an increase of 0.2 percent.

In June, sales went up by a revised 20.9 percent. Previously, a 7 percent increase was reported for that month.