May US Existing Home Sales Rise Unexpectedly

10:00 AM EDT, 06/23/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The pace of US existing home sales rose by 0.8% to a 4.03 million seasonally adjusted annual rate in May from 4.00 million in April, compared with an expected decrease to a 3.95 million rate in a survey compiled by Bloomberg as of 7:35 am ET, data from the National Association of Realtors released Monday showed.

Total sales were down 0.7% from a year earlier.

"The relatively subdued sales are largely due to persistently high mortgage rates," said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. "Lower interest rates will attract more buyers and sellers to the housing market. Increasing participation in the housing market will increase the mobility of the workforce and drive economic growth."

Yun said that he expects improved home sales later in the year if mortgage rates decrease, supported by strong income growth and a high level of inventories.

Sales of single-family homes were up 1.1%, while condominium sales fell by 2.7%. Sales were up in three of the four regions of the country, decreasing only in the West. Sales increased in the Northeast and the Midwest regions when compared with a year earlier but decreased in the South and the West regions.

Homes remained on the market an average of 27 days, down from 29 days in April but above 24 days a year ago.

The supply of homes for sale increased to 1.54 million homes in May from 1.45 million in April and jumped by 20.3% from the 1.28 million level a year ago.

The month supply on market increased to 4.6 months from 4.4 months in April, above the 3.8 months supply a year ago.

The median home price increased to $422,800 from $414,000, up 1.3% from the $417,200 level one year ago and the highest level on record for a May report.

The monthly existing home sales report from the National Association of Realtors measures sales of single-family and multi-family homes for resale at the time of closing, including the number of existing homes available and the median sales price. A strong reading is a positive sign for mortgage lenders and related consumer product companies.

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