ARLINGTON, Va.—Existing home sales fell 0.9% in May from April, but it still reflected a 44.6% increase in sales versus a year ago. The average home price also saw a big increase.
Existing home sales dipped for their fourth consecutive month in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.8 million, roughly at its July 2020 level, NAFCU's Curt Long noted.
"Higher mortgage rates, rapidly increasing prices, poor availability, and vicious competition for available homes are stifling demand, even as supply increased for the second month in a row," said Long, NAFCU's chief economist and vice president of research. "Housing starts rose 3.6% in May while permits fell 3%. The prices of inputs and labor shortages are hamstringing the effort to get new homes built quickly and affordably, which is reflected in homebuilder sentiment falling to a 10-month low in June.”
Sales fell in three regions during May, with the West seeing the largest drop, falling 4.1% on the month, followed by the Northeast (-1.4%), and the South (-0.4%) The Midwest rose 1.6%. Versus a year ago, sales were up in all regions.
The median existing home price rose from $340,600 in April to $350,300 in May (not seasonally adjusted). That is a 23.6% increase from a year ago.
"NAFCU expects sales to remain strong for the rest of the year, still limited by availability and affordability." concluded Long.