The U.S. Commerce Department announced on Thursday that the sales of new single-family homes plummeted 6.9 percent m-o-m to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 607, 000 units in January, suggesting the housing market weakness persisted early this year, despite a moderation in mortgage rates. That was the slowest pace since October 2018. 

Economists had forecast the sales pace of 620,000 last month. 

December’s sales pace was revised up to 652,000 units from the originally reported 621,000 units. 

According to the report, new home sales in the South, the largest area, tumbled 15.1 percent m-o-m. Sales in the Midwest plummeted 28.6 percent m-o-m to the lowest level since January 2014, while sales in the Northeast dropped 11.4 percent m-o-m. Meanwhile, sales in the West surged 27.8 percent to a 10-month high.

In y-o-y terms, new home sales recorded a 4.1percent drop in January.