New single family home sales declined 5.9% in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 769,000, the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reported.
The rate increased 9.2% compared with May 2020 single family home sales. New home sales were expected to soften this spring following a period soaring demand, according to National Association of Home Builders Chief Economist Robert Dietz.
“While higher prices have shifted some buyers to the sidelines, NAHB survey data indicates that approximately 20 percent of builders have limited sales activity in recent months in order to manage supply-chains of materials and labor availability," Robert Dietz stated.
Regionally, new home sales remained unchanged in the Midwest and increased 6.7% and 33.3% in the West and Northeast, respectively. New home sales declined 14.5% in the South.
"New home prices have increased over the last year due to higher material costs and delays for deliveries," NAHB Chairman Chuck Fowke said in a statement. "Policymakers must take action to improve supply-chains in order to protect housing affordability. While lumber costs have come down in recent weeks, they are still more than 210 percent higher than a year ago. And OSB prices are up 380 percent over the last year."
The median sales price of new homes was $374,400, with an average sales price of $430,600.
New homes for sale at the end of may was 330,000, a supply of 5.1 months at the current sales rate.
