New home sales unexpectedly drop of 0.6 percent

The durable goods report was better than expected and now the new home sales comes in worse than expected. The housing market must stabilize (sales, inventory and prices) before there can be any hope of economic recovery.-Lou

New home sales unexpectedly drop of 0.6 percent in May as demand for housing remains sluggish

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government says new U.S. home sales fell slightly last month, another sign that the housing market's recovery is likely to be gradual and prolonged.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday that sales dropped 0.6 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 342,000, from a downwardly revised April rate of 344,000.
Sales were down nearly 33 percent from May last year.

May's results missed economists' expectations of a 360,000 sales pace, according to Thomson Reuters.

The median sales price of $221,600 was down 3.4 percent from a year earlier but still up 4.2 percent from April.