Sales of new U.S. single-family homes fell in July following a sharp upward revision to the prior month's sales pace, and the overall trend remained consistent with a housing market struggling in an environment of high mortgage rates.

Sales of new US homes exceeded forecasts in July after an upward revision to the prior month, as prices eased and heavy incentives enticed more buyers off the fence.

U.S. new home sales slipped 0.5% to 652K in July from 656K in June (revised from 627K), compared with the 635K consensus, according to data released by the U.S. Census Bureau on Monday.