Home Sales Slide 14.9% in May

New home sales plummeted 14.9% in May, the biggest decline in more than five years, as a sharp spurt in mortgage rates drove first-time home buyers out of the market, the government reported today.

The Commerce Department said new single-family homes were sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 616,000 units in May while the median price of a new home shot up to a record $106,800--the first time the median price of a new home has topped $100,000.