May Existing Home Sales Second-Best on Record

WASHINGTON D.C. — Sales of existing homes were at the second-highest pace on record in May as mortgage interest rates continued to decline, according to a report released Thursday by the National Association of Realtors.

Total existing-home sales—including single family, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops—slipped 0.7 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 7.13 million from a record of 7.18 million in April. Sales were 3.5 percent above the 6.89 million-unit level in May 2004. Aside from the last two months, the previous record was a sales pace of 7.02 million in June 2004.

“Most of the stars continue to be correctly aligned for the housing market,” David Lereah, NAR’s chief economist, said. “An ongoing problem is the tight supply of homes available for sale, which is pushing gains in home prices.”

The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $207,000 in May, up 12.5 percent from May 2004 when the median price was $184,000. The median is a typical market price where half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less.

Existing condominium and cooperative housing sales hit a record in May, rising 2.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 922,000 units from a level of 902,000 in April. Last month’s sales activity was 10.6 percent above the 834,000-unit pace in May 2004. The median condo price was $221,000, up 15.2 percent from a year earlier. Condo sales accounted for 12.9 percent of market activity in May.

Single-family home sales slipped 1.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.21 million in May from a record of 6.28 million in April, and were 2.5 percent above the 6.06 million-unit pace in May 2004. The median single-family home price was $204,600 in May, up 12.2 percent from a year ago.

Regionally, total existing-home sales in the West rose 1.9 percent to an annual rate of 1.63 million units in May, but were 0.6 percent below the same month a year ago. The median existing-home price in the West was $305,000, up 19.1 percent from May 2004.

Existing-home sales in the Northeast held even at a record annual pace of 1.20 million units in May, and were 8.1 percent above the level of May 2004. The median existing-home price in the Northeast was $246,000, up 13.9 percent from a year ago.

The home resale pace in the South slipped 0.7 percent from a record in April to a level of 2.72 million units in May, and was 5.4 percent higher than a year ago. The median price of an existing home in the South was $181,000, which was 7.7 percent higher than May 2004.

Total existing-home sales in the Midwest declined 3.0 percent from a record in April to an annual rate of 1.59 million in May, and were 0.6 percent above May 2004. The median price in the Midwest was $169,000, up 10.5 percent from a year earlier.