The U.S. Commerce Department announced on Thursday that the sales of new single-family homes fell 0.7 percent m-o-m to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 701, 000 units in September.

Economists had forecast the sales pace of 701,000 last month.

August’s sales pace was revised down to 706,000 units from the originally reported 713,000 units.

According to the report, new home sales in the South, the largest area, decreased 0.2 percent m-o-m in September. Sales in the West declined 3.8 percent m-o-m and sales in the Northeast dropped 2.8 percent m-o-m. Meanwhile, sales of new homes in the West climbed 6.3 percent m-o-m.

In y-o-y terms, new home sales recorded a 15.5 percent surge in September.