With sales at an annual pace of 610,000 in May, new home sales were stronger than last month and exceeded economists forecasts for 593,000 sales. April's pace was also revised higher to 593,000.
The report cheered economists who had seen some weaker housing numbers lately, including last week's housing start s.
Ward McCarthy of Jefferies writes:
The pace of new home sales now matches the average for this year, which is higher than the 561,000 pace for last year, points out Peter Boockvar of The Lindsey Group. But it's still 15% lower than the 25-year average for new home sales.
He sees the steep climb in house prices as an impediment to future growth in sales. He writes:
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
