The pace of new home sales across the country soared in April while the median price dropped at a record rate. According to data released May 24 by the U.S. Commerce Department, sales of new homes rose 16.2 percent in April to 981,000 units, far outpacing economists’ predictions of a 0.2 percent increase. Meanwhile the median price of new homes sold in the month fell a record 11.1 percent to $229,100 nationally compared to the previous month. Analysts interpreted the data to mean that homebuilders are slashing prices in order to sell what has become a huge inventory of homes.
