Competition from foreclosure homes continues to take a big chunk out of national new home sales, which fell unexpectedly in May to an annual seasonally adjusted rate of 342,000.

Sales dropped a hair from April, snuffing out the expectation that improving weather in May is supposed to stimulate new home construction in much of the country.

Year over year, new home sales dropped by a third. You can blame the housing glut. Builders sold hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of unnecessary homes from 2004 to 2007. That surplus has boomeranged on them brutally.

With such a dismal housing report, it's interesting that production of "durable goods" like washing machines, stoves and computers rose in May.

Maybe Americans figure that if they can't afford to change houses, they might as well enjoy the latest stainless steel refrigerator.

A new home report tailored to Tampa Bay comes out in mid July. You'll read it here first.