The summer continues to bring encouraging numbers for the homebuilding industry. Reuters reports that new home sales were up again in May ("New home sales near five-year high, prices rise," by Lucia Mutikani). May sales were up 2.1 percent from the previous month, and up 29 percent from May 2012. "Last month, the inventory of new homes on the market increased 2.5 percent to 161,000 - the highest since August 2011 - as builders ramp up production to meet the growing demand," Reuters reports. "Still, supply remains tight, putting upward pressure on prices. The median new home price increased 10.3 percent from a year ago."
Prices of existing houses continued to rebound as well, reports the Wall Street Journal ("New-Home Sales Rise, Case-Shiller Index Jumps," by Jonathan House and Tess Stynes). "The Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller index showed that existing-home prices in 20 U.S. metropolitan areas were 12.1% higher in April than a year earlier," the Journal reports. "Home prices posted their largest monthly gain since the Case-Shiller data began, rising 2.5% in April from March in the 20-city index. On a seasonally adjusted-basis, the 20-city index rose at a 1.7% monthly rate."
