Sales of existing homes rose 2% in May to a seasonally adjusted annual level of 4.99 million units, the National Association of REALTORS® said June 26. It was only the second increase in the last 10 months. The inventory of unsold homes shrank 1.4% to 4.49 million units, representing a 10.8-month supply at the May sales pace, down from an 11.2-month supply in April. Meanwhile, the median price of an existing home sold in May dropped to $208,600, a decline of 6.3% from a year ago.
Sales of new homes dropped 2.5% in May to a seasonally adjusted rate of 512,000 units, the Commerce Department reported June 25. The median price of a new home slipped to $231,000, off 5.7% from a year ago.
Mortgage application volume fell 9.3% for the week ending June 20, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's weekly application survey. Refinances were down 12.1% and purchase volume declined 7.4%.
Neither home sales nor application volume got much help from rates on 30-year mortgages, which rose to their highest level in nine months, Freddie Mac said June 26.
At the conclusion of its Federal Open Market Committee on June 25, the Fed left its benchmark Fed funds rate at 2%. That's the rate at which banks loan short-term funds to one another.
The Commerce Department said June 26 that the nation's first-quarter gross domestic product or GDP, which measures the value of all goods and services produced in the United States, came in at 1%, slightly better than the government's previous 0.9% estimate. Although sub par, the growth was better than the feeble 0.6% pace marking the final quarter of 2007.
Due out in July is the Labor Department's employment report for June.
Economic data compiled from government reports and news services Bloomberg.com, msnbc.com, cnbc.com, cnn.money.com and Yahoo Economic Calendar.
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