WASHINGTON - New home sales fell 2.1% in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 319,000, as the number of new homes for sale dropped to a record low, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.
Sales in April were revised higher to 326,000 from 323,000.
May’s drop was the first sales decline in four months. Sales fell in the Northeast and West, were flat in the Midwest and increased in the South.
Economists polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting 310,000 sales for the month, according to the median estimate.
The inventory of new homes for sale dropped to a record low 166,000 from 172,000 in April. The months supply of homes decreased to 6.2 months, the lowest level since April 2010.
The median new home price increased 2.6% to $222,600, the highest level since January. The median price is down 3.4% from last May.
