By Fan-Yu Kuo | Eye On Housing
As low inventory continues to push home prices higher and squeeze out some buyers, existing home sales dropped to a eleven-month low in May, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The median existing home price in May surged to an all-time high; the largest annual pace on record.
Total existing home sales, including single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, fell 0.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.80 million in May, the lowest level since July 2020. However, on a year-over-year basis, sales were still 44.6% higher than a year ago.
The first-time buyer share remained at 31% in May, even with April but down from 34% a year ago. The May inventory level increased from 1.15 to 1.23 million units but is still down from 1.55 million units a year ago.
At the current sales rate, the May unsold inventory sit at a 2.5-month supply, slightly up from April’s 2.4-month but still down from 4.6-month a year ago. This low level supply of resale homes is good news for home construction.
