U.S. new home sales plummet
At lowest level since 1963 as incentives end
New home sales in the United States collapsed in May, falling to their lowest level on record, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.
Sales fell 33 per cent from April as buyers stopped shopping for homes when government incentives ended.
The Commerce Department said sales fell to a seasonally adjusted annual sales pace of 300,000. That was the slowest pace on records dating back to 1963.
Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected May sales of 410,000.
"It's pretty dismal," said Colin Cieszynski, market analyst at CMC Markets Canada.
"What this is suggesting is that more of the house sales got pulled forward into the first part of the year than anybody even imagined."
The sharp drop followed a surge of buying in March and April as buyers flocked into the market to take advantage of federal tax credits of up to $8,000 US on home purchases.
Those incentives expired at the end of April.
With files from The Associated Press