New Homes Sales Weak in Northeast

The government released the “New Residential Sales” data for May 2005 today. The headline number was pretty healthy as expected. Nationally, the May 2005 sales number of 1,298,000 was 4.4% higher than the May 2004 number of 1,271,000. Also, May 2005 sales were up 2.1% compared to April 2005.

Looking at the data on a regional level is a little less bullish. In the Northeast, where the Jersey Shore is, New Houses Sold and For Sale declined 28.2% from May 2004 to May 2005. On a sequential quarter basis, sales declined 24.5%.

In summary, the total national number was pretty strong but for our region of the company, the comparisons were pretty weak.

Here is a link to the government website.