The U.S. Commerce Department announced on Wednesday that the sales of new single-family homes dropped 5.9 percent m-o-m to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 769,000 units in May. This was the lowest reading since May 2020.

Economists had forecast the sales pace of 870,000 last month.

April’s sales pace was revised down to 817,000 units from the originally reported 863,000 units.

According to the report, new home sales in the South, the largest area, plunged 14.5 percent m-o-m in May. In the meantime, new home sales in the Northeast jumped 33.3 percent m-o-m and those in the West rose 6.7 percent m-o-m. In the Midwest, new home sales were flat m-o-m.

The report also showed that median sales price climbed 18.1 percent y-o-y to $374,400, while the average sales price surged 16.8 percent y-o-y to $430,600.

In y-o-y terms, new home sales were up 9.2 percent in May.