Today, the U.S. Census Department released its monthly New Residential Home Sales Report for May showing continued deterioration in demand for new residential homes across every tracked region resulting in a startling 40.26% year-over-year decline and a truly whopping 63.14 % peak sales decline nationally.It’s important to keep in mind that these dramatic declines are coming on the back of the significant declines seen in 2006 and 2007 further indicating the enormity of the housing bust and clearly dispelling any notion of a bottom being reached.
Additionally, although inventories of unsold homes have been dropping for fourteen straight months, the sales volume has been declining so significantly that the sales pace has now stands at an astonishing 10.9 months of supply.
The following charts show the extent of sales declines seen since 2005 as well as illustrating how the further declines in 2008 are coming on top of the 2006 and 2007 results (click for larger versions)
Look at the following summary of today’s report:National
- The median sales price for a new home declined 5.71% as compared to May 2007.
- New home sales were down 40.3% as compared to May 2007.
- The inventory of new homes for sale declined 16.9% as compared to May 2007.
- The number of months’ supply of the new homes has increased 39.7% as compared to May 2007 and now stands at 10.9 months.
- In the Northeast, new home sales were down 57.8% as compared to May 2007.
- In the Midwest, new home sales were down 42.3% as compared to May 2007.
- In the South, new home sales were down 35.0% as compared to May 2007.
- In the West, new home sales were down 43.0% as compared to May 2007.
