New single-family home sales fell in May to their lowest level in six months, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Wednesday.

What You Need To Know

  • New single-family home sales fell in May to their lowest level in six months, according to the U.S. Census Bureau

  • Nationally, sales fell 11.3% compared with April and are 16.5% lower compared with May 2023

  • The median price of a new house sold in May was $417,400

  • The Northeast saw the largest sales declines, followed by the South and Midwest

Sales fell 11.3% compared with April and are 16.5% lower compared with May 2023. New home sales in May dropped to a seasonally adjusted rate of 619,000 units annually.

The sales decline comes as 30-year mortgage rates hover near 7% and as housing prices continue to climb. The S&P CoreLogic Case Shiller Index reported this week that national home prices increased 6.3% in April compared with a year earlier and were up 1.2% from March.

The median price of a new house sold in May was $417,400, according to the Census Bureau. The average price was $520,000.

While all parts of the country saw new home sales fall in May, the Northeast saw the greatest decline. Sales were down 43.8% compared with April. They fell 12% in the South, 8.6% in the Midwest and 4.5% in the West.