Existing Home Sales Rise
Sales of existing homes inched up in May, according to the National Association of Realtors.
What’s going on: Existing home sales increased to 4.30 million units from 4.29 million units in April.
- Sales strengthened in the South and West but weakened in the Midwest and Northeast.
- The median sales price for existing homes was $396,100 in May, a decrease of 3.1% from a year ago.
By housing type: Single-family house sales edged down 0.3%, to 3.85 million units from April’s 3.86 million units.
- Meanwhile, sales of condominiums and co-ops increased 4.7%, to 450,000 units from 430,000 in April.
Unsold homes: The unsold inventory of existing homes on the market rose to 3.0 months from 2.9 in April but stayed near historic lows.
Overall: Home sales have declined 20.4% on a year-over-year basis, from 5.40 million units last May.
The NAM’s take: “The existing home market remained challenged by affordability and lack of inventory, although sales remained higher than the 4.00 million units in January,” said NAM Chief Economist Chad Moutray.