Overview
- The National Association of Realtors reported Tuesday that existing-home sales rose 3.2% in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.17 million units, the strongest monthly pace since December.
- The median sales price edged up to $429,300 in May, a 1.3% year-over-year gain that marked the 35th consecutive month of annual price increases.
- Inventory improved modestly to about 1.55 million homes for sale, roughly 4.5 months of supply at the current pace, giving buyers slightly more choice but remaining below pre-pandemic norms.
- First-time buyers returned to the market, accounting for 35% of sales, a jump from 30% a year earlier, while investor and cash shares eased.
- Mortgage rates drove the timing of the rebound: a drop in the 30-year rate in April helped form the contracts that closed in May, but rates climbed back toward the mid-6% range in May, leaving future demand sensitive to inflation and geopolitical-driven Treasury yield swings.