Existing home prices in the US reach record levels
Existing home sales in the US fell by 0.7 percent monthly in May, marking the third consecutive month of decline, while median home prices in the secondary market reached an all-time high.
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The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has released existing home sales data for May.
Accordingly, existing home sales in the country, seasonally adjusted, decreased by 0.7 percent on a monthly basis in May to 4.11 million.
Market expectations for existing home sales were for a level of 4.08 million.
THREE MONTHS OF DECLINE
Existing home sales, which have recorded a decline for three consecutive months, were recorded at 4.14 million in April, a decrease of 1.9 percent.
Existing home sales in the country also decreased by 2.8 percent in May compared to the same month last year.
In the US secondary market, median home prices increased by 5.8 percent annually in May, reaching 419 thousand 300 dollars, the highest level ever recorded.
In the statement, Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist at the NAR, noted that the record-high home prices have created a wider gap between existing homeowners and those looking to buy a home for the first time.
Yun noted that today, the average mortgage payment for a home is more than double the payment for homes purchased before 2020.