The latest national housing report from RE/MAX (NYSE:RMAX) found a 20% increase in home sales from April to May, although May’s sales were also down 18.7% from one year ago.
“The sizeable jump in May homes sales signals the start of the peak selling season, but lack of inventory remains the biggest challenge for home buyers,” said Nick Bailey, RE/MAX president and CEO. “With the vast majority of homeowners having a mortgage rate under 5% – and a good chunk of those are under 3.5% – we’re not seeing as much move-up activity as usual. That means fewer available listings for buyers to choose from – and most likely some continuing bumpiness in the market. That said, sales are still happening, and experienced agents are still finding solutions for their buyers and sellers.”
May’s $423,000 median sales price was the highest since June 2022, when it was $426,000. The markets with the biggest year-over-year decrease in median sales price were San Francisco (-10.7%), Las Vegas (-10%) and Phoenix (-8.9%), while the biggest year-over-year increases were in Hartford, Connecticut (11%), Milwaukee (10.1%) and Trenton, New Jersey (8.9%).
New listings last month recorded a nearly 10% gain from April but were down 20.4% from May 2022 levels. Last month’s supply of inventory 1.2-months, slightly lower than the 1.3 months of April but also slightly higher than the 1.1 months recorded a year ago.
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