New Home Sales Rise 2.1% Last Month, 29.6% Higher than May 2012

Newly constructed home sales rose 2.1 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 476,000 units. The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development also revised the April sales estimate from the 454,000 units originally reported to 466,000. May new home sales were at a rate 29.6 percent higher than the annualized pace of 369,000 units reported in May 2012.

On a non-seasonally adjusted basis there were 45,000 homes sold compared to 46,000 in April and 35,000 in May 2012. There were 14,000 completed homes sold and 16,000 for which construction had not yet begun.

The median price of a home sold in May was $263,900 and the average sales price was $307,800. The median price one year earlier was $239,200 and the average was $280,900.

At the end of May there were 161,000 new homes for sale compared to 157,000 at the end of April and 144,000 one year earlier. The report estimates that the supply of homes provide an inventory of 4.4 months at the current rate of sales, up slightly from a 4.0 months supply in April.

On a regional basis, new home sales in the Northeast increased by 20.7 percent from April to May but were unchanged from May 2012. Sales in the Midwest rose 40.7 percent month-over-month and were up 76.6 percent on an annual basis. In the South new home sales decreased 9.0 percent from April but were 27.9 percent higher than a year earlier. Sales in the West were up 3.6 percent and 18.6 percent respectively.