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US housing market remains in the doldrums
Sales of new single-family houses in the US fell more than expected in July to hit a five month low according to a report released by the Commerce Department yesterday. The report showed that new home sales for July slipped 0.7 per cent from the revised June rate of 300,000 to 298,000. Compared to July of 2010, however, the new home sales rate was up by 6.8 per cent in July. The median price for a new home sold in July 2011 was £134,480, down about 5.5 per cent from June but up 8.8 per cent from 12 months earlier.