U.S. New-Home Sales Drop to Eight-Month Low as Prices Fall

U.S. purchases of new homes fell in June to the slowest pace in eight months, while the median selling price declined to the lowest in more than a year, adding to signs the housing market is cooling, according to government data Wednesday.

Shares of homebuilders including Toll Brothers Inc., Lennar Corp. and KB Home declined after the report, with the SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF touching the lowest this month. Demand weakened in three of four U.S. regions, including a 7.7 percent drop in the South, the largest area. The decline in sales left 301,000 homes available nationwide in June, the most since March 2009.