Newsroom

June 23, 2014

Existing-home sales increased 4.9% in May

June 24, 2014 – Existing-home sales increased 4.9 percent nationwide in May to an annualized, seasonally adjusted 4.89 million units, according to data published by the National Association of Realtors and analyzed by NAFCU's Doug Christman.

"While May's numbers increased significantly compared to April's pace, overall sales are still down on a year over year basis," Christman said in a NAFCU Macro Data Flash report. Year over year, existing-home sales were down 4.9 percent.

Sales increased in each of the four regions from April to May. The Midwest increased the most with a gain of 8.7 percent, followed by the South (5.7 percent), the Northeast (3.3 percent) and the West (0.9 percent).

The months of available inventory decreased to 5.6 months of supply in May from 5.7 months of supply in April. May's figure for months of supply was 12 percent higher than last year at this time.

The median existing-home price increased from a revised $201,500 in April to $213,400 (not seasonally adjusted) in May. That's up from $203,100 a year ago.

"Home sales are expected to improve throughout the year but are likely to be lower than 2013 due to a sluggish first quarter," Christman said.