The U.S. Commerce Department announced on Thursday that the sales of new single-family homes tumbled 15.4 percent m-o-m to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 627, 000 units in March. That was the lowest reading since May 2019.

Economists had forecast the sales pace of 645,000 last month.

February's sales pace was revised down to 741,000 units (-4.6 percent m-o-m) from the originally reported 765,000 units (-4.4 percent m-o-m).

According to the report, new home sales in the South, the largest area, decreased 0.8 percent m-o-m in March. Meanwhile, sales of new homes in the Northeast tumbled 41.5 percent m-o-m, sales in the West plunged 38.5 percent m-o-m and sales in the Midwest declined 8.1 percent m-o-m.

In y-o-y terms, new home sales recorded a 9.5 percent drop in March.