U.S. New Home Sales Unchanged in August

New home sales in the United States remained unchanged in August, the Commerce Department reported.

New home sales remained at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 288,000 units in August, unchanged from the previous month. But it was still the second slowest pace since the department began tracking the data in 1963. Sales were down 29 percent from the same month a year earlier.

The poor performance of the housing market in recent months was primarily due to the expiration of a government tax break at the end of April, under which new home buyers could take advantage of tax credits of up to 8,000 dollars. Congress extended the deadline to the end of September.

August's number suggested that the housing market is still a drag to the fragile economic recovery.

The report also showed that the median price of a new home, a typical market price where half of new homes are sold for more and half sold for less, fell to 204,700 dollars in August.