By Renae Merle Washington Post Staff WriterNew-home sales were stagnant last month, posting an unexpected decline as builders competed with a glut of foreclosures on the market and prices continued to fall, according to government data released yesterday.
Sales fell 0.6 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 342,000, according to the Commerce Department. That was down 32.8 percent compared with the same period last year.
Analysts have been looking for signs of firming in the housing market and expected a 2 percent increase in new-home sales during May. While the decline was unanticipated, some analysts maintained that the new-home market could begin to show signs of recovery later this year.
Comments on this entry are closed.