MAY EXISTING HOME SALES UP 2%
May existing home sales increased 2% percent to an annual rate of 4.99mln vs. an upwardly revised 4.89mln in April and slightly better than the 4.95mln analysts expected. Year-over-year existing home sales are down 15.9% compared to the 5.93mln sales pace in May ‘07.
The median price for all housing types was $208,600 in May, which is down 6.3% from last year. The median price of a single-family home was $200,700, down 6.8% from last May. Condo sales were up 5.5% in May, but are still down 24.6% year-over-year. Condo median prices were down 2.1% from May of last year.
Inventories of unsold homes in May fell 1.4% to 4.94 million, which reflects a 10.8 months supply at the current sales rate down from 11.2 in April.
Single family home sales increased 1.6% in May with three out of four reporting regions posting improved sales figures.