Home buyers are watching the housing market closely, waiting for affordability to improve before making their move. Any drop in mortgage rates seems to inspire a wave of buyers looking to take advantage of the improvement. The latest new home sales numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development are the latest evidence of that. In July, new home sales reached the highest level in more than a year, spiking 10.6 percent from the month before and climbing 5.6 percent higher than last year at the same time. The gains – credited to falling mortgage rates during the month – outpaced economists’ expectations and marked the sharpest month-over-month increase in two years. They’re also another strong sign that buyer demand remains high and could climb even higher if, and when, rates drop further. (source)