WASHINGTON - New home sales plunged 32.7% in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 300,000, a record low, as the median sales price fell and the months supply increased to the highest level in almost a year, the Commerce Department reported today.
Sales in all four geographical regions fell by at least 23%. Sales in the West region fell by 53.2% to 51,000, a record low level. Records for this series date back to 1963.
New home sales in April were revised lower to 446,000 from the 504,000 reported last month. Sales in March were revised to 389,000 from 439,000.
Economists expected 420,000 new home sales for the month, according to the median estimate from Thomson Reuters. Sales for the year ending in May fell 18.3%.
The homebuyers’ tax credit had boosted sales in April as buyers rushed to beat the April 30 deadline.
On Tuesday, the National Association of Realtors reported that sales of existing homes fell 2.2% to a seasonally adjusted 5.66 million homes. The drop was partly due to a backlog of deal closings stemming from the surge of buying ahead of the tax credit expiration, said NAR’s chief economist Lawrence Yun.
Inventories of new home sales fell to 213,000 in May, the lowest level since 1970. The months supply of new homes for sale surged 46.6%.
The median sales price in May fell to $200,900, down 9.6% from a year ago and 1.0% from April.
