(Kitco News) - The U.S. housing market continues to struggle to find its footing as elevated mortgage rate and higher prices take their toll on potential buyers.
The disappointing housing market data is supporting gold prices trade near session highs.
New home sales fell 0.3% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual sales rate of 662,000 homes, down from January’s revised rate of 664,000, the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said on Monday.
The data was weaker than expected, as consensus forecasts looked for a sales rate of 675,000.
Bad economic news is proving to be good news for the precious metal. Spot gold last traded at $2,178.80 an ounce, up 0.67% on the day.
Economists note that the U.S. housing sector continues to struggle as new buyers face significant headwinds. The Federal Reserve’s aggressive monetary policy has pushed mortgage rates to multi-year highs, and at the same time, a low supply of new homes is keeping prices elevated.
The report said the median sales price of new houses sold in February 2024 was $400,500. The average sales price was $485,000.
Looking at the inventory of homes for sale, the report said there were an estimated 463,000 new houses for sale at the end of February, representing an 8.4-month supply at the current sales rate.
