Existing Home Sales Fall for the Fourth Consecutive Month in May

Pace is slowest in nearly two years as sales drop by 3.4 percent to an annualized rate of 5.4 million.

Sales fall in three of the four regions, and are most pronounced in the Midwest and West, where they are off by 5.3 percent apiece.
Number of homes sold this year has been lower every month vs. the corresponding period last year.
Inventory of available homes improves to 1.16 million in May. The 2.6-month supply is nearing the 3.2-month average of the past four years.
Home prices continue to rise, with the existing home median and average prices up 14.8 percent and 9.2 percent respectively over last year.
The South leads all regions with a year-over-year increase of 22 percent for a median-priced home, with the other three regions weighing in with single-digit price gains.
Median home prices by region range from a low of $282,000 in the Midwest to a high of $523,000 in the West.