New Homes Slump Worsens

More alarm bells for the stumbling housing market rang as a government report on new home sales showed a bigger-than-expected drop in sales, along with a continued rise in unsold homes and a further weakening of prices in the closely watched sector.

New homes sold at an annual pace of 1.07 million in July, according to the Census Bureau report, down from the 1.12 million pace in June, which was also revised slightly lower than the original reading.

The pace of new home sales is now down 21.6 percent from year-earlier levels, with every region of the country showing double-digit percentage declines compared to July 2005.

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