Sales of newly built single-family homes saw a slight improvement in June from the month before, according to new numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. New home sales were up 0.6 percent month-over-month, though they still trailed last year’s levels by 6.6 percent. A slower new home market this year has contributed to a rising number of available new homes for sale. In fact, the inventory of available new homes is up 8.5 percent from last year at this time. But while that may be bad news for home builders, it’s good for prospective buyers, as it’s helping to bring down the price of the new homes currently for sale. In June, for example, the median sales price of new houses sold was $401,800. That’s nearly 5 percent less than in May, when it was $422,800. (source)