ADVERTISEMENT
New Home Sales Rise in May06-26-06 | News
img
 

New Home Sales Rise in May



WASHINGTON D.C. ?EUR??,,????'??+ Sales of new single-family homes rose 4.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted, annual rate of 1.23 million units in May according to a report released today by the Commerce Department.

?EUR??,,????'??The May sales number seems a bit too good to be true, especially in view of the wide confidence intervals around these statistics,?EUR??,,????'?? NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders said. ?EUR??,,????'??We don?EUR??,,????'???t think the cooling process for housing is over yet, and we wouldn?EUR??,,????'???t be surprised to see a downward revision to May?EUR??,,????'???s numbers as well as some decline in coming months.?EUR??,,????'??

Three out of four regions posted gains in the Census figures for new-home sales in May. The South had the strongest gain, of 6 percent, followed by the West?EUR??,,????'???s 5.3 percent increase and the Midwest?EUR??,,????'???s 2.7 percent gain. Sales fell nearly 8 percent in the Northeast.

Meanwhile, the inventory of new homes for sale declined slightly in May to 556,000 units, equivalent to a 5.5-month supply at the current sales pace.

img