The National Association of Realtors Existing-Home Sales Report shows that existing-home sales rose by 3.2% month-over-month and year-over-year.
The report provides the real estate ecosystem of agents, homebuyers, and sellers with data on the level of home sales, price, and inventory, NAR said.
According to the report, month-over-month sales rose in the Northeast, Midwest and South, and were unchanged in the West. Year-over-year sales, meanwhile, increased in the Midwest, South, and West, and fell in the Northeast.
“More Americans are on the move, with home sales rising to the highest level since December. This is great news for the housing market and the economy,” said NAR Chief Economist Dr. Lawrence Yun. “Improving affordability is helping drive this momentum. Even with mortgage rates ticking up compared to earlier in the year, they remain lower than a year ago and are essentially at the long-term historical average. Income gains are also outpacing home price growth by a small margin in most parts of the country.”
Solid Fundamentals
“The new record-high May home price reflects solid fundamentals for homeowners and ongoing supply constraints,” Yun said. “Only 1% of all home sales involved a foreclosure or an underwater situation in which the sale price could not cover the outstanding mortgage balance. This shows that homeowners are on solid financial footing.”
“Increased home sales mean more economic activity — lawn care, furniture purchases, moving services, mortgage originations and other related business activities all get a boost,” Yun said.
National Snapshot
Total Existing-Home Sales for May
- 3.2% increase in existing-home sales1 month-over-month.
- 3.2% increase in existing-home sales year-over-year to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.17 million.
Inventory in May
- 1.55 million units: Total housing inventory2, up 3.3% from April and up 0.6% from May 2025.
- 4.5-month supply of unsold inventory, no change from last month and down slightly from 4.6 months one year ago.
Median Sales Price in May
- $429,300: Median existing-home price for all housing types
- 1.3% increase from one year ago ($423,700)—the 35th consecutive month of year-over-year price increases.
Bankrate Principal Analyst Ted Rossman noted that the report was above expectations.
“Existing home sales came in a bit above expectations in May, according to the National Association of Realtors, with lower mortgage rates receiving much of the credit. It’s all relative — the current 30-year fixed rate average of 6.56% feels high relative to much of the past few decades, but it’s 33 basis points lower than it was a year ago and about a percentage point and a half lower than where it was in October of 2023,” Rossman noted.
He said that mortgage rates have impacted home sales.
“The growth of home sales has been much slower than expected this year, largely because mortgage rates are stuck in the mid-6’s because of the war in Iran. If not for the war-related spike in inflation, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate could well be in the mid-to-upper 5’s. Home prices are holding up better, setting another record in May. The Northeast is an interesting example, since it was the only one of the four regions where sales fell year-over-year in May, but it experienced the strongest price growth. Lower inventory is the main explanation,” Rossman said.
“First-time buyers make up a larger share of sales than at any point since mid-2020. It goes to show that even a modest dip in mortgage rates can spur sales, particularly since home price growth has flattened and even gone negative in many markets (especially in the Sun Belt). If you’re borrowing $400,000 at today’s 6.56% instead of last year’s 6.89%, you save about $100 per month. Compared with the 8% from a few years ago, you’re currently saving about $400 per month. Regardless of macro moves in rates, don’t settle for average. Compare rates aggressively and get at least three quotes. If you shop around and have strong credit, you can often beat the national average by at least half a percentage point,” he said.
