The National
Association of Realtors (NAR) announced on Monday that the U.S. existing home
sales advanced by 0.8 per cent m-o-m to a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.03 million
in May from an unrevised 4.00 million in April. This marked the first monthly gain in existing
home sales in three months and represented the highest rate since February (4.27
million).
Economists had predicted
home re-sales to ease to a 3.96 million-unit pace last
month.
In y-o-y terms,
existing home sales dropped 0.7 per cent in May.
According to
the report, three out of four
major regions - the Northeast (+4.2 per cent m-o-m), Midwest
(+2.1 per cent m-o-m), and South (+1.7 per cent m-o-m) - posted increases in existing-home sales on a m-o-m basis,
while the West (-5.4 per cent m-o-m) registered a fall.
In y-o-y terms,
sales rose in the Northeast (+4.2 per cent) and Midwest (+1.0 per cent), but
decreased in the West (-6.7 per cent) and South (-0.5 per cent).
Over the
reviewed period, the median existing home price for all housing types gained by
1.3 per cent y-o-y to $422,800, a record high for the month of May. That marked the 23rd straight month
of year-over-year increases in median existing-home price.
Single-family
home sales came in at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 3.67 million in May,
up 1.1 per cent m-o-m and 0.3 per cent y-o-y. Meanwhile, existing condominium and co-op sales were recorded
at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 360,000 units last month, down 2.7 per cent
m-o-m and 10.0 per cent y-o-y.
Commenting on
the latest data, Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, noted that the relatively
subdued sales were largely due to persistently high mortgage rates. “Increasing
participation in the housing market will increase the mobility of the workforce
and drive economic growth,” he added. “If mortgage rates decrease in the second
half of this year, expect home sales across the country to increase due to
strong income growth, healthy inventory, and a record-high number of jobs.”