Existing home sales fell 9.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.91 million in May, the National Association of Realtors reports. It is the third consecutive month of declines caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Compared with May 2019, existing home sales are down 26.6%.
“Sales completed in May reflect contract signings in March and April during the strictest times of the pandemic lockdown and hence the cyclical low point,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun stated. “Home sales will surely rise in the upcoming months with the economy reopening, and could even surpass one-year-ago figures in the second half of the year.”
Existing home sales were down in every region during the month, declining 13% in the Northeast; 10% in the Midwest; 8.0% in the South; and 11.1% in the West.
The median existing home price for all housing types was $284,6000, a 2.3% increase from May 2019. At 1.55 million units, housing inventory grew 6.2% from April, but is down 18.8% compared with May 2019.
