Second-hand home sales in the US increased by 0.2 percent on a monthly basis in May, exceeding expectations.
National Association of Realtors (NAR) announced second-hand home sales data for May.
Accordingly, second-hand house sales in the country increased by 0.2 percent on a monthly basis, in seasonally adjusted terms, to 4.3 million in May. Second-hand house sales were expected to realize at the level of 4.25 million in this period.
Second-hand house sales decreased by 3.2 percent in April to 4.29 million.
Second-hand house sales in the country decreased by 20.4 percent in May compared to the same month of the previous year.
The median house prices in the second-hand market in the USA also decreased by 3.1 percent on an annual basis in May, to 396 thousand 100 dollars.
Noting that mortgage rates greatly affect the direction of home sales, NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun noted that relatively flat rates led to consistent home sales for several months in a row.
Pointing out that the current inventory has a strong impact on home sales, Yun noted that second-hand home sales activity has dropped considerably as the supply is roughly half of 2019.