New-home sales dropped slightly in June, government officials said Friday.

New-home sales dropped slightly in June from May’s revised figures, the U.S. Department of Commerce reported Friday.

The department says 530,000 newly built homes were sold in June, a decline of 0.6 percent from a month earlier.

“Today's weak sales numbers once again demonstrate the critical need for the housing and economic stimulus bill that's now nearing final passage in the Senate," said National Association of Home Builders President Sandy Dunn, a home builder from Point Pleasant, W.Va. “Once signed by the president, this legislation will boost confidence in the housing finance system, bring some stability to the overall market and stimulate sales as first-time buyers start taking advantage of a tax credit of up to $7,500.”

The inventory of available new homes dropped 5.3 percent to 426,000 units. The NAHB said the figure represents a 10-month supply, compared with a 10.4-month supply of homes in May.

That was some good news, said association chief economist David Seiders.

“While the housing downswing continues, with new-home sales down by a third from year-ago levels and builder confidence at a record low this month, today's report shows that builders are making some progress on reducing the inventory of unsold units,” Seiders said.