Existing home sales increased 0.2% in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.30 million, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Compared with May 2022, existing home sales were down 20.4%, with year-over-year declines in every region.
Existing home sales were impacted by a lack of inventory, according to NAR.
“Newly constructed homes are selling at a pace reminiscent of pre-pandemic times because of abundant inventory in that sector,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement. “However, existing-home sales activity is down sizably due to the current supply being roughly half the level of 2019.”
Regionally, month-over-month existing home sales declined 2.0% in the Northeast and 2.9% in the Midwest. Existing home sales rose 2.6% and 1.5% in the West and South, respectively.
The full NAR report can be found here.
