US home sales plunge from MAY 2023From the TD trading desk.
The numbers: Sales of newly built homes in the U.S. plunged in May, as the number of home buyers scaled back in the face of high mortgage rates.
New-home sales were at the lowest level since November 2023.
Sales of newly built homes fell 11.3% to an annual rate of 619,000 in May, from a revised 698,000 in the prior month, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.
The number is seasonally adjusted, and refers to how many homes would be built over an entire year if builders continue at the same pace every month.
The pace fell short of expectations on Wall Street. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal expected new-home sales to increase to 640,000.
The rate of new-home sales was led by a steep drop of 44% in the Northeast.
The data from April was revised significantly. New-home sales were revised to a 698,000 pace from an initial reading of 634,000.
The new-home sales data are volatile month-on-month and are often revised.
Key details: The median sales price of a new home sold in May fell to $417,400 from $417,900 in the prior month.
The supply of new homes for sale rose to 14.8% between April and May. New home inventory in May was at the highest level since October 2022.
New home sales posted the biggest drop in the Northeast, followed by the South, the Midwest, and the West.
Overall, sales of new homes are down 16.5% compared to the previous year.