New-Home Sales Up, But Median Price Down

June 24, 2005, Associated Press — Sales of new homes in May climbed to the second highest level in history, but the median sales price fell sharply, the government reported Friday. The Commerce Department said that sales of new single-family homes rose by 2.1% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.3 million homes. But the median sales price dropped 6.5% to a median $217,000. The strong new home sales followed a report Thursday that sales of previously owned homes totaled 7.13 million units at an annual rate in May, a slight decline from the record April pace, but still the second fastest sales rate on record for existing homes. The median sales price of existing homes continued rising in April to hit a record of $207,000. Sales fell by a sharp 24.5% in the Northeast to an annual rate of 74,000 units.
New-Home Sales Rise, Median Declines [Wall Street Journal]