WASHINGTON—U.S. home resales in May exceeded a nine-year high, due largely to improving supply increasing choice for buyers.
The National Association of Realtors said on Wednesday existing home sales increased 1.8% to an annual rate of 5.53 million units last month, the highest level since February 2007, Reuters reported.
April's sales pace was revised down to 5.43 million units from the previously reported 5.45 million units. Reuters said economists it had polled had forecast sales rising 1.1% to a 5.54 million-unit pace in May. Sales were up 4.5% from a year ago.
Existing home sales increased by a healthy 4.1% in the Northeast and climbed 4.6% in the South. Sales in the West, which has seen a strong increase in house prices amid tight inventories, jumped 5.4%, Reuters noted.
In the Midwest, sales tumbled 6.5% last month, which followed recent large gains in that section of the country.
The number of unsold homes on the market in May rose 1.4% from April to 2.15 million units. The median home price rose 4.7% from a year ago to a record $239,700 last month, Reuters said.