A Stern Glance

Sales of new homes posted an unexpected gain in July as heavily discounted properties enticed cautious house hunters to become home buyers.

The Commerce Department reported that sales of new single-family homes rose by 2.4 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 515,000 units, the most since April.

But sales in June turned out to be much weaker than the government previously estimated. Sales sank to a pace of just 503,000, the worst showing since September 1991. June’s sales were initially reported to have clocked in at a pace of 530,000.

Even with the over-the-month increase, new-home sales are down a whopping 35.3 percent from last July, underscoring just how much the housing market has eroded.

Home prices also continued to sag. The average price of a new-home sold in July was $294,600, down 4.1 percent from a year ago. The median home price — where half sell for more and half for less — was $230,700, down 6.3 percent from last year.