Sales of newly built homes in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 551,000 units, a 6 percent decrease compared with April’s rate of 586,000 but an 8.7 percent increase above the May 2015 rate of 507,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
"At an annual pace of 551,000 units, new home sales are up relative to the first few months of 2016 as well as last year," said Robert Dietz, National Association of Home Builders chief economist, in a statement. "The sales market continues to make overall gains despite month-to-month volatility."
Regionally, new home sales increased 12.9 percent in the Midwest. They fell 0.9 percent in the South, 15.6 percent in the West and 33.3 percent in the Northeast.
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