U.S. new home sales tumble in March

Sales of new U.S. homes fell by 8.6 percent in March to an annualized rate of 763,000 units, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. February’s pace was revised upward to 835,000 units from the preliminary estimate of 772,000 units. All four regions of the country saw declines in March. The drop was even steeper than expected by analysts, who in a Reuters poll projected a rate of 765,000 units.