Competition from foreclosure homes continues to take a chunk out of national new home sales, which fell unexpectedly in May to an annual seasonally adjusted rate of 342,000. Sales retreated from April, snuffing out expectations that improving weather in May would spur new home construction in much of the country. Year over year, new home sales dropped by a third. Blame the housing glut. Builders sold hundreds of thousands of excess homes from 2004 to 2007. As investor-owners abandon their homes to foreclosure, that surplus has boomeranged on builders. In a spot of good news, production of durable goods like washing machines and stoves rose in May. If you can't afford a new home, maybe the consolation prizes is the latest stainless steel refrigerator.
News
