This April 16, 2020 photo shows a real estate company sign that marks a home for sale in Harmony, Pa. U.S. new home sales plunged 15.4% in March as the lockdowns that began in the middle of the month began to rattle the housing market. The Commerce Department reported Thursday, April 23, that sales of new single-family homes dropped to a seasonally ajdjusted annual rate of 627,000 last month after sales had fallen 4.6% in February. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
By Martin Crutsinger
Updated 12:04 pm ET
Sales of new homes rose a surprisingly strong 16.6 percent in May with the reopening of major parts of the country potentially fueling activity in the housing market.
The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that sales of new single-family homes rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 676,000 last month.
That was a much better performance than expected. Many economists had forecast that sales would fall in May.
The new home sales numbers come just one day after the U.S. reported a 9.7 percent plunge in May sales of existing homes to an annual rate of 3.91 million, the slowest pace in nearly a decade.
There are hopes that the housing slump that occurred with the virus shutdowns could be coming to an end, though the millions of jobs lost to the pandemic could impede any rebound.
Nancy Vanden Houten, lead U.S. economist with Oxford Economics, said she expected a modest recovery in sales in the coming months following the big declines in the first quarter but she still expects a decline overall this year.
"The slow recovery in the labor market will limit the upside of any rebound in the housing market," she said.
The median price of a new home rose 4.9 percent to $317,900 in May after falling by 8.7 percent in April, a drop that was attributed to heavy discounting by builders in the midst of the coronavirus shutdowns.
The big sales rebound left activity in May 12.7 percent higher than a year ago.
Vulture contributor Fran Hoepfner talks the Wicked film's marketing campaign, why 'culture jacking' works so well and how it all paid off for the hit musical.
Brigit Zimmerman, Chief Commercial Officer at Priceline breaks down what travelers can expect this holiday season, predictions for 2025 and best ways to save.
Simon Shuster, Senior Correspondent at TIME, discusses his recent article, how the friendship between Musk and Trump may affect US spending, “DOGE” and more.
Christa Pitts, Co-Founder & Co-CEO of The Lumistella Company shares the origins of Elf on the Shelf Plus Extraordinary Noorah's Macy's Day Parade debut!
Hayley Berg, Lead Economist at Hopper breaks down her best tips for navigating holiday travel and how to score the hottest deals on Dec. 3 - Travel Deal Tuesday
MarketWatch's Hannah Erin Lang joins Cheddar to discuss how economists are viewing Trump's immigration policy and how it will affect the job market in America.
