?EUR??,,????'??The gradual decline in new-home sales is still underway, and we expect this trend to continue as the market approaches the bottom,?EUR??,,????'?? said NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders. ?EUR??,,????'??We expect home sales to stabilize before the end of the year, followed by a systematic multi-year recovery beginning in 2008.?EUR??,,????'??

The inventory of new homes for sale edged down 1.1 percent in May to 536,000 units, equivalent to a 7.1 months?EUR??,,????'??? supply at the May sales pace and up slightly from 7.0 months in April.

Completed homes for sale were 33 percent of the inventory, while units still under construction represented almost 51 percent of the inventory and units for-sale that were permitted but not yet started represented 16 percent of the inventory level. The median length of time that completed homes were on the market was 5.7 months in May, down from 5.9 months in April.