New home sales in May fell 7.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 626,000, the U.S. Census Bureau reports. Year-over-year, new home sales are up 4%.
"The May numbers are a bit surprising given lower mortgage interest rates and solid builder confidence data," stated Robert Dietz, chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders. "Based on these conditions, we expect June new home sales figures will show a rebound."
Sales fell 13.3% in the Northeast and 3.2% in the Midwest.The South and West saw increases of 7.5% and 3.4%, respectively.
The median sales price was $308,200.That’s down from a median sales price of $316,700 in May 2018. There were 333,000 new homes for sale at the end of May, representing a 6.4-month supply at the current sales pace.
