The U.S.
Commerce Department reported on Wednesday that the sales of new single-family
homes tumbled 11.3 per cent m-o-m, the most since September 2022 (-13.7 per
cent m-o-m), to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 619,000 units in May. This
marked the lowest reading since November 2023 (611,000).
Economists
had predicted a sales pace of 640,000 last month.
The April sales
pace was revised up to 698,000 units from the originally reported 634,000
units.
According to
the report, new home sales in the South, the largest area, plummeted by 12.0
per cent m-o-m in May to 368,000. In addition, new home sales in the Northeast plunged by 43.8
per cent m-o-m to 18,000, in the Midwest declined by 8.6 per cent m-o-m to 85,000
and in the West fell by 4.5 per cent m-o-m to 148,000.
Compared to May
2023, new home sales dropped 16.5 per cent.
The report also
revealed that the median sales price slipped by 0.9 per cent y-o-y to $417,400 in
May, while the average sales price jumped by 4.9 per cent y-o-y to $520,000.