MNI DATA IMPACT: US May Home Sales Below-Expected 626k SAAR>

--Headline Decline Follows April Drop To Revised 679k

--May Homes Supply Ticks Up 0.3%; Months Supply Jumps To 6.4 Months

--Median Home Sales Prices Falls To $308,000

By Kevin Kastner

     WASHINGTON (MNI) - New single-family home sales fell by 7.8% to a 

626,000 annual rate in May, a second straight decline, led by sharp 

sales decreases in the Northeast and West regions, data released by the 

Commerce Department Tuesday showed. 

     The new home sales pace was well below the 682,000 rate expected by 

an MNI survey of analysts and the 685,000 Bloomberg consensus, and 

followed mixed revisions to the previous two months. 

     As a result, market participants are likely to see the May decline 

as further sign that the housing market is slowing, even as mortgage 

rates have remained historically low. The unadjusted sales pace was 3.2% 

below its year ago level. 

     Here are the key findings from the release: 

     - New homes sales in April were revised up slightly to a 679,000 

pace from the 673,000 previously announced rate. The March pace was 

revised down to 705,000 from 723,000. The average April-May sales pace, 

at 653,000, was below the first quarter average of 672,000 after the 

revisions are included. 

     - When broken down regionally, the drop in May headline sales was 

due to declines in the Northest (-17.6%) and West (-35.9%) regions, 

offset by gains in the Midwest (+6.3%) and South (+4.9%) regions. 

     - The supply of new homes for sale rose by 0.3% in the month to a 

level of 333,000. The current level of supply is 10.3% higher than a 

year earlier, suggesting that supply is more than outpacing demand. 

     - Based on the movements in sales and supply in May, the months' 

supply surged to 6.4 months from the April months' supply of 5.9 months. 

The May months' supply was up sharply from the 5.6 months level a year 

ago. Supply of new homes remains fairly high relative to sales, as 

opposed to the very tight supply of existing homes available for sale. 

     - The median sales price fell by 8.1% to $308,000 from $335,100 in 

April. The median price stands 2.7% below the $316,700 level in May 

2018, as sales have slipped and supply has moved higher. 

     ** MNI Washington Bureau (202) 371-2121 ** 

[TOPICS: MAUDS$,MT$$$$,M$U$$$,MAUDR$]