Having shed 11.4 percent in April, the seasonally adjusted rate of new single-family home sales in the U.S. rose 2.9 percent in May to an annual rate of 610,000 sales and is running 8.9 percent above the pace of sales at the same time last year.

That being said, last month’s pace remains 6.4 percent below the long-term average for this time of the year (652,000) and 54.1 percent below the record-high pace in May of 1,328,000 sales which was set in 2005.

At the same time, the number of new single-family homes for sale across the county ticked up another 1.5 percent to 268,000, which is the most available inventory since the third quarter of 2009 and 11.2 percent higher versus the same time last year.

And in the West, the pace of new single-family home sales rebounded 13.3 percent in May following a 26.3 percent drop in April and is now running 14.1 percent higher versus the same time last year. Keep in mind that contract signings for new construction units in San Francisco were 36 percent lower on a year-over-year basis in May and were 19 percent lower over the past 12 months versus the 12 months before.

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