New homes take record 11.2 months to sell

[marmar]

New home sales fall 0.6% to 342,000 yearly rate
Once completed, new home takes record 11.2 months to sell

By Rex Nutting, MarketWatch


WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Sales of new homes in the United States were essentially unchanged near record-low levels in May as home builders continued to slash their inventories of unsold homes, the Commerce Department estimated Wednesday.

Sales dropped 0.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 342,000 in May from a downwardly revised 344,000 in April. Seasonally adjusted sales have been essentially flat since January, when they dropped to a postwar record low of 329,000.

The report was weaker than expected, with economists surveyed by MarketWatch expecting a slight increase to 363,000 annualized. See the Economic Calendar.

Government statisticians have low confidence in the monthly report, which is subject to large revisions and large sampling and other statistical errors. In most months, the government isn't sure whether sales rose or fell. The standard error in May, for instance, was plus or minus 17.8%. Read the full government report.

The government says it can take up to five months to establish a new trend in sales. Over the past five months, sales have been on a 341,000 annual pace, 38% slower than a year earlier.

Sales are down 32.8% in the past year. ........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/new-home-sales-fall-06-to-342000-pace