New home sales drop 6% in April as median price jumps 8%, signaling market cooling amid high mortgage rates.

New home sales in the U.S. fell 6.2% in April to an annual rate of 622,000, missing forecasts and marking an 11.3% decline from last year. Despite the drop in sales, the median price of new homes surged 8% month-over-month to $422,500, the largest increase in seven years, though it remains 6.2% lower than a year ago. High mortgage rates around 6.33% continue to discourage homeowners from moving, limiting inventory and contributing to price increases. This trend reflects a cooling housing market with demand not keeping pace with population growth, influenced by the persistent "lock-in effect" of existing low-rate mortgages.