Existing home sales rose in May after two consecutive months of decline, with all regions except the West posting increases, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Meanwhile, home prices continued to climb.
Nationally, there was a 0.8 percent increase in total existing-home sales, month over month, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.03 million. That total was well above the 3.95 million home sales forecast by a sampling of economists across the United States, according to FactSet.
For the year, that is down by 0.7 percent from 4.06 million sales in May 2024. Currently, the nation’s housing inventory stands at 1.5 million units, up by 6.2 percent from April and 20.3 percent from 1.2 million in May 2024. There is a 4.6-month supply of unsold housing inventory, up from 4.4 months in April and 3.8 months in May 2024.
“The relatively subdued sales are largely due to persistently high mortgage rates. Lower interest rates will attract more buyers and sellers to the housing market,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement, noting that housing sales still rose for the 23rd consecutive month.
Annual and monthly sales in the Northeast rose by 4.2 percent, while median sale prices across the region increased to $513,000, a 7.1 percent rise from a year earlier. In the West, however, sales fell by 5.4 percent from the previous month, and by 6.7 percent from a year ago. The median home price on the West Coast grew to $633,500, up by 0.5 percent from the previous year.
Housing sales in the Midwest and South were mixed on a monthly and yearly basis. In southern states, sales rose by 1.7 percent from the previous month, but fell by 0.5 percent year over year. The median home price in the South declined by 0.7 percent to $367,800. In the Midwest, housing sales rose by 2.1 percent and 1 percent on a monthly and yearly basis, respectively, while home prices increased by 3.4 percent to $326,000 from a year ago.
The current report comes ahead of the monthly housing report from the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on June 25, which highlights new residential home sales nationwide. NAR will also release its Pending Home Sales Index on June 26.
In April, sales of new single-family houses were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 743,000, HUD and census data show. That is 10.9 percent above the March 2025 rate of 670,000, and 3.3 percent above the April 2024 rate of 719,000.
The median sales price of new houses sold in April was $407,200. This represents a 0.8 percent increase from the March 2025 price of $403,700, and a 2 percent decrease from the April 2024 price of $415,300.
The average sales price of new houses sold in April was $518,400. This represents a 3.7 percent increase from the March price of $499,700 and is more than 3.6 percent above the April 2024 price of $500,600.
In highlighting the continued rise in mortgage rates, Yun noted that increased participation in the housing market will enhance workforce mobility and drive economic growth. According to Freddie Mac, the average 30-year fixed rate is now 6.81 percent, a four-week low, and down slightly from 6.87 percent a year ago.
“If mortgage rates decrease in the second half of this year, expect home sales across the country to increase due to strong income growth, healthy inventory, and a record-high number of jobs,” said Yun.
The Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee kept the federal funds rate unchanged in the range of 4.25 percent to 4.5 percent on June 18. Explaining its stance, the committee said it will continue to monitor the “implications of incoming information for the economic outlook.”
“The Committee would be prepared to adjust the stance of monetary policy as appropriate if risks emerge that could impede the attainment of the Committee’s goals,” the committee said in a statement.
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