Existing-home sales in May rose 1.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.53 million, compared with April’s 5.43 million, and signaled the highest rate recorded since February 2007, when the rate was 5.79 million, according to the National Association of Realtors.
May’s existing-home sales were up 4.5 percent year-over-year.
“This spring’s sustained period of ultra-low mortgage rates has certainly been a worthy incentive to buy a home, but the primary driver in the increase in sales is more homeowners realizing the equity they’ve accumulated in recent years and finally deciding to trade-up or downsize,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun in a statement.
Properties for sale in May stayed on the market for 32 days—the shortest amount of time since the NAR began tracking the statistic in May 2011. In April, houses stayed on the market for 39 days. That number was 40 in May 2015.
The bulk of home buyers today are repeat buyers, who are using the proceeds from the sale of their previous home as a down payment, Yun said, adding that first-time buyers are still struggling to enter the housing market.
The share of first-time buyers was 30 percent in May, a decrease from 32 percent in April.
