While California certainly appears to have been a bright spot for home sales last month, the rest of the nation was not so fortunate. According to brand-new numbers from the National Association of Realtors, existing-home sales were up a minimal 0.2 percent in May when compared to the month prior.
Year-over-year, sales dropped 20.4 percent, down from 5.40 million in May 2022.
Total housing inventory registered at the end of May was 1.08 million units, up 3.8 percent from April but down 6.1 percent from one year ago. Unsold inventory sits at a 3-month supply, up from 2.9 months in April and 2.6 months in May 2022.
“Mortgage rates heavily influence the direction of home sales,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Relatively steady rates have led to several consecutive months of consistent home sales. Available inventory strongly impacts home sales, too. Newly constructed homes are selling at a pace reminiscent of pre-pandemic times because of abundant inventory in that sector. However, existing-home sales activity is down sizably due to the current supply being roughly half the level of 2019.”
The median existing-home price for all housing types in May was $396,100, a decline of 3.1 percent from May 2022.
Existing-home sales in the West rose 2.6 percent from the previous month to an annual rate of 790,000 in May, down 25.5 percent from one year ago. The median price in the West was $596,500, down 5.7 percent from May 2022.
In the Northeast, sales declined 2 percent from April and were down 25.4 percent from May 2022. The median price in the Northeast was $439,000, up 2.5 percent from one year ago. In the Midwest, existing-home sales also fell some 2.9 percent from one month ago. The median price in the Midwest was $298,000, up 1.1 percent from May 2022.
Existing-home sales in the South grew by 1.5 percent from April. The median price in the South last month was $361,400, down 2.7 percent from May 2022.