Existing home sales in US in May beat expectations

NEW YORK

Sales of existing homes in the US rose 0.8% in May, beating market expectations.

According to data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the number of existing (second-hand) home sales in the country rose 0.8% month-on-month in May to 4.03 million.

Market expectations for existing home sales were 3.96 million. In April existing home sales fell 0.5% to 4 million.

The median existing home price in the US rose 1.3% year-on-year in May to $422,800, reaching its highest value ever in May.

This meant the median home price in the country continued to rise year-on-year for the 23rd consecutive month.

Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the realtors group, said the relatively sluggish sales were largely due to high mortgage rates, adding that lower mortgage interest rates will attract more buyers and sellers to the housing market.