New home sales decline in June

New home sales unexpectedly declined in June, bucking a trend of recent positive news in the housing sector.

The Commerce Department said sales of new single-family homes fell 6.8% from May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 482,000.

Wall Street had expected sales to rise to a 548,500 annual rate, according to FactSet.

The new home sales report tends to be volatile because of its small sample size.

Other recent data points have shown the housing market is improving.