Midwest is only region with increased home sales in May

dennis-norman-st-louis-realtor-existing-home-salesYesterday’s existing home sales report from the National Association of REALTORS® shows existing home sales in May were at at a seasonally adjusted-annual rate of 4.55 million units which is a decrease of 1.5 percent from the month before, however, here in the Midwest we bucked the trend coming in with home sales at an annual rate of 1.04 million units, up 1.0 percent from the month before.  The Midwest was the only region in May that saw an increase in the rate of home sales in May from the month before, all regions saw an increase from a year ago however.   Home prices in the Midwest didn’t fare as well as the rest of the country however, coming in at 147,700 which is an increase of 6.4 percent from a year ago, less than the 7.9 percent increase seen at the national level, however the month over month increase of 5.6 percent in the Midwest did top the 5.1 percent month over month increase at the national level.

U.S. Home prices increase for fourth-consecutive month….

The median home price in the U.S. in May was $182,600, an increase of 5.1 percent from the month before and an increase of 7.9 percent from a year ago when the median price was $169,300.

Number of Homes for sale in U.S. decreases from month before, supply increases….

The number of existing homes on the market decreased in May by 0.4 percent from the previous month to 2.49 million homes, and decreased 20.4 percent from a year ago when there were 3.1 million homes for sale. The months supply of homes on the market increased 1.5 percent from the prior month to 6.6 months and is down 27.5 percent from a year ago when the supply was 9.1 months.

The “recovery is occurring”…..

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said inventory shortages in certain areas have been building all year. “The slight pullback in monthly home sales is more likely due to supply constraints rather than softening demand. The normal seasonal upturn in inventory did not occur this spring,” he said. “Even with the monthly decline, home sales have moved markedly higher with 11 consecutive months of gains over the same month a year earlier.”

“The recovery is occurring despite excessively tight credit conditions and higher downpayment requirements, which are negating the impact of record high affordability conditions,” Yun said.

The following are the ACTUAL Existing Home sales for May, 2012 reported by NAR without any adjustment or fluff:

  • There were 444,000 existing homes sold during the month which is an increase of 11.0 percent from the month before and an increase of 13.6 percent from a year ago.
  • Below are highlights from each region for the month;
    • Northeast – 56,000 homes sold, an increase of 7.7 percent from the prior month and an increase of 16.7 percent from the year before.
    • Midwest – 108,000 homes sold, an increase of 21.3 percent from the prior month and an increase of 21.3 percent from the year before.
    • South – 168,000 homes sold, an increase of 8.4 percent from the prior month and an increase of 17.0 percent from the year before.
    • West – 112,000 homes sold, an increase of 7.7 percent from the prior month and an increase of 7.7 percent from the year before.

Other highlights of the NAR Report for May 2012:

  • Distressed sales (short sales and foreclosures) accounted for 25 percent of all home sales for the month (15 percent were foreclosures and 10 percent short sales), down from 28 percent the month before.
  • First-Time homebuyers accounted for 34 percent of the home sales for the month, down from 35 percent the month before.
  • Investors were the buyers of 17 percent of the homes for the month, down from 20 percent the month before.
  • Repeat home buyers were responsible for approximately 49 percent of the month’s sales up from 45 percent the month before.
  • Cash buyers were 28 percent of all sales for the month, down from 29 percent the month before.
  • Foreclosures typically sold for an average 19 percent below market price.
  • Short sales sold for an average 14 percent below market price.
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