Sales of new-construction homes plunged in May as prices edged up and buyers recoiled from mortgage rates stuck in the mid-6% range.
Contract signings for newly built homes fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 580,000 in May, down 7.3% compared to April, the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development reported on Wednesday. The May figure was also down 6.8% from a year ago.
Meanwhile, new home prices rose, with May's median sales price reaching $424,900, up 2% from the previous month's $416,500, and virtually unchanged from what it was a year ago.
The latest readout comes a week after the Census Bureau report that construction starts on single-family homes fell in may alongside new permits and completions.
At the same time, the National Association of Realtors® reported that existing home sales climbed in May to their highest level since December 2025, driven by an influx of first-time homebuyers, while pending home sales increased 3.8% month over month and 4.8% year over year.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Snejana Farberov is a reporter at Realtor.com covering the U.S. housing market and the latest domestic real estate trends. She has worked as a general assignment journalist in New York City and Long Island for 16 years, writing for New York Post, Daily Mail, and News 12. Snejana earned bachelor's degrees in journalism and Italian from St. John's University, followed by a master’s degree from Columbia University School of Journalism.
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