Key stat is gonna be selling price this year versus LAST YEAR, while the MSM will try to confuse the sheeple with May versus April comparisons. Also don't forget the margin of error on this report is like 13% either way - so why we even look at it I'm not sure but it's usually fun.
New-Home Sales in U.S. Probably Fell in May After April Surge
June 26 (Bloomberg) -- Purchases of new homes in the U.S. probably dropped last month, ending speculation that a jump in April sales signaled a recovery in demand, economists said before a government report today.
Sales fell 6 percent to an annual pace of 922,000 in May from a 981,000 rate the previous month, according to the median of 71 economists' forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey. Purchases unexpectedly surged 16 percent in April, the most in 14 years.
A jump in mortgage rates this month and a glut of unsold properties on the market will continue to discourage home buying and construction, economists said. The housing slump, already the worst since 1991, will restrain the economy for the rest of the year and potentially into next.
``Builders are continuing to be quite cautious and are taking actions to bring the supply of homes more in line with the demand,'' said Drew Matus, a senior economist at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in New York.
The Commerce Department is scheduled to issue the new-home sales report in Washington at 10 a.m. Estimates ranged from 850,000 to 990,000.
