U.S. New Home Sales Soar 12.2% in May

By Emon Reiser

Sales of new single-family houses in the U.S. climbed double digits in May, far exceeding economists' expectations, according to data from the Commerce Department released Tuesday. Here are the main takeaways:

--New home sales increased 12.2% in May compared with the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 763,000.

--Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal expected home sales to decrease 1.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 675,000.

--Sales were 20% above the same month a year ago, when they stood at an adjusted annual rate of 636,000.

--The median price of a new home decreased to $416,300 in May from $402,400 in April.

--The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of May was 428,000. This represents a slight decrease in supply to 6.7 months at the current sales rate.

Write to Emon Reiser at emon.reiser@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 27, 2023 10:49 ET (14:49 GMT)

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