The U.S. Commerce Department announced on Friday that the sales of new single-family homes tumbled 12.8 percent m-o-m to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 635, 000 units in July. That was the biggest monthly fall since July 2013.

Economists had forecast the sales pace of 649,000 last month.

June’s sales pace was revised up to 728,000 units from the originally reported 646,000 units.

According to the report, new home sales in the South, the largest area, slumped 16.1 percent in July. Sales of new homes also decreased in the Midwest and West in the Midwest. Meanwhile, sales in the Northeast jumped 50 percent to 39,000.

In y-o-y terms, new home sales recorded a 4.3 percent advance in July.