By Fan-Yu Kuo | Eye On Housing
As rising mortgage rates and higher home prices continued to price out homebuyers, existing home sales declined for four consecutive months, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). However, the trend in home price appreciation continued as supply remained tight. The median existing home prices in May surpassed $400,000, the highest level on record since 1999.
Total existing home sales, including single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, fell 3.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.41 million in May. On a year-over-year basis, sales were 8.6% lower than a year ago.
The first-time buyer share fell to 27% in May, down from 28% in April and down from 31% a year ago. The May inventory level increased from 1.03 to 1.16 million units but was still down from 1.21 million units a year ago.
