New Home Sales Jump in May
Aided by lack of existing inventory and solid consumer demand, new home sales rose to their highest level in May since February 2022. Newly built sales of single-family home rose 12.2% in may to a 763,000 seasonly adjusted annual rate, according to newly released data by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau.
According to the National Association of Home Builder (NAHB), “demand for new homes is strengthening because of a lack of existing home inventory,” said Alicia Huey, chairman of NAHB and a custom home builder and developer from Birmingham, Ala. “And while builders continue to grapple with elevated construction costs, an encouraging sign is a big gain in home sales priced in the $200,000 to $300,000 price range. In May 2022, just 5,000 homes sold in this range and that total increased to 12,000 in May 2023.”
