The National Association of REALTORS® reported on Wednesday that Existing Home Sales declined for the second straight month in May. Existing Home Sales were down slightly by 0.4% from April to an annual rate of 5.43 million annualized units, below the 5.55 million expected. From May 2017 to May 2018, Existing Home Sales were down 3%. While sales rose in the Northeast in May, they fell in the Midwest, West and South. Inventories of homes for sale on the market remain low with a 4.1-month supply, below the 6 months seen as normal.
Lawrence Yun, the NAR chief economist, said, “Inventory coming on the market during this spring’s buying season was not even close enough to satisfy demand.” A solid economy and job market should be generating a much stronger sales pace than what has been seen so far this year. “Closings were down in a majority of the country last month and declined on an annual basis in each major region,” he said. “Incredibly low supply continues to be the primary impediment to more sales, but there’s no question the combination of higher prices and mortgage rates are pinching the budgets of prospective buyers, and ultimately keeping some from reaching the market.”
Mortgage rates remained unchanged in the latest week, as reported by the Mortgage bankers Association (MBA). The MBA reports that the 30-year fixed-rate conforming mortgage remained at 4.83% (0.48 point), while jumbo rates increased by five basis points to 4.79% (0.36 point), while FHA rates were near unchanged at 4.82% (0.84 point). The refinance index rose 6%, while the purchase index increased 4% from a week earlier.
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