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The numbers: Sales of newly built homes in the U.S. inched up in January, even as mortgage rates rose.
U.S. new-home sales rose 1.5% to an annual rate of 661,000 in January, from a revised 651,000 in the prior month, the Commerce Department reported Monday.
The number is seasonally adjusted and refers to how many homes would be built over an entire year if builders continued at the same pace every month.
The pace fell short of expectations on Wall Street. Economists had forecast new-home sales to total 680,000 in January.
The rate of new-home sales was dragged down by weakness in the South.
The data from November was revised. New-home sales rose a revised 7.2% in December, compared with the initial estimate of an 8% increase.
The new-home sales data are volatile month over month and are often revised.
