The Commerce Department has the new homes sales numbers out. "Sales of new one-family houses in June 2006 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,131,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 3.0 percent below the revised May rate of 1,166,000 and is 11.1 percent below the June 2005 estimate of 1,272,000."

"The median sales price of new houses sold in June 2006 was 231,300; the average sales price was $290,600. The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of June was 566,000."

"Sales of new homes fell in June by the largest amount in four months while the inventory of unsold homes climbed to a record high, providing further evidence that the once-booming housing sector is slowing."

"The Commerce Department reported Thursday that new home sales dropped by 3 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual sales pace of 1.131 million units. It marked the first drop since an 11.5 percent plunge in February."

"The government reported that the median price of a new home was $231,300 in June, which was up by just 2.3 percent from a year ago and was down by 1.5 percent from May."

And from Reuters. "Beazer Homes USA Inc. on Thursday said quarterly profit fell 9 percent and orders dropped 16 percent, prompting the company to cut its forecast again in another sign of the weakening U.S. housing market."

"Beazer, which sells homes largely to mortgage-rate sensitive, first-time home buyers, followed Pulte Homes and Centex Corp., which reported much greater declines in home orders as rising mortgage rates and housing prices pressured buyers."

"'Looking ahead, we do not see conditions in the housing markets improving significantly in the remainder of the fiscal year,' Ian McCarthy, Beazer's CEO said."

"Home orders fell to 4,378 from 5,202, as increases in Texas and some Southeast markets were offset by significantly lower new home orders in the West and Florida.'

From the PDF file at the Commerce Department, 'total for-sale at the end of the period':

458,000 June 2005

459,000 July

477,000 Aug

491,000 Sept

492,000 Oct

508,000 Nov

515,000 Dec

525,000 Jan 2006

533,000 Feb

550,000 Mar

558,000 April

560,000 May

570,000 June