by Sales also decline 7.3% from April, while prices remain stable from the same time last year
WASHINGTON — New home sales in May trailed activity from a year earlier, signaling that the market is still challenged as consumers are waiting for interest rates to come down.
This has obvious implications for furniture sales as many people buy new furniture as they plan to move into new construction or an existing home.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, sales of new single-family homes totaled 580,000 in May, down 6.8% from 622,000 in May 2025 and 7.3% below 626,000 in April.
By comparison, existing home sales rose 3.2% from May 2025 and April. Existing home sales rose despite the median price being $434,300, up 1.3% from May 2025. The median price for new construction was $424,900, unchanged from May 2025 and up 2% from $416,500 in April.
The average sales price of new houses sold in May was $540,600, 5% above $514,800 in May 2025 and up 7.8% above $501,400 in April.
The number of new houses for sale at the end of May totaled 496,000, down 1.4% from 503,000 in May 2025 and 2.3% above the estimated 485,000 in April.
The report said this represents a 10.3-month supply based on the current rate of sale, compared with 9.7 months in May 2025 and 9.3 months in April, up 6.2% and 10.8% respectively.
With an increasing supply of homes it will take longer to sell through that inventory, particularly as new homes continue to come online. In May, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that there were 1,313,000 housing completions compared with 1,530,000 in May 2025 and 1,429,000 in April.
The good news for retailers is that there is still activity in the market for new and existing homes. How much furniture people actually purchase will depend on the amount of their paycheck that is going toward a mortgage payment plus other expenses both expected and unexpected that are part of buying a home.
We can only hope that furniture remains high on the list of priorities.
