Existing housing inventory, which has been highly deficient in the past few years, saw a significant leap in May, according to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) latest data, pointing toward more sales increases in the future.
NAR’s Existing-Home Sales report for May saw 1.54 million existing homes on the market, up 6.2% from April and 20.3% from May 2024 when they numbered 1.28 million. The unsold inventory supply currently sits at 4.6 months, up from 4.4 months in April and 3.8 months in May 2024.
Existing sales themselves saw a slight increase of 0.8%, from 4 million in April to 4.03 million in May. Sales are still down year-over-year, however, 0.7% from 4.06 million in May 2024.
Median days on the market also shrank, sliding from 29 days in April to 27 days in May, but were still up from 24 days last year. The median sales price in May came in at $422,800, up 1.3% from $417,200 in May 2024. NAR reported that this is a record high for the month of May, and the 23rd consecutive month of year-over-year price increases.
“The relatively subdued sales are largely due to persistently high mortgage rates. Lower interest rates will attract more buyers and sellers to the housing market,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “If mortgage rates decrease in the second half of this year, expect home sales across the country to increase due to strong income growth, healthy inventory and a record-high number of jobs.”
Breaking down the sales numbers, 30% of sales were first-time homebuyers, down from 34% in April and 31% in May 2024. Cash sales made up 27% of transactions, up from 25% in April, but down from 28% in May 2024. Individual investors or second-home buyers accounted for 17% of transactions, up from 15% in April and 16% in May 2024. Lastly, 3% of sales were distressed sales (foreclosures and short sales), up from 2% in both April 2025 and May 2024.
Existing-home sales for single-family homes specifically grew 1.1% to 3.67 million, up 0.3% from May 2024, with the median home price up 1.3% year-over-year to $427,800. Condominiums and co-op sales, on the other hand, saw a 2.7% decrease to 360,000, also down a whopping 10% from May 2024.
Regionally, the Northeast saw a 4.2% increase in sales to 500,000, up 4.2% year-over-year, with a median price up 7.1% year-over-year to $513,300. Sales in the Midwest grew 2.1% to 990,000, up 1% year-over-year, with a median price up 3.4% year-over-year to $326,400. The South saw a 1.7% increase in sales to 1.84 million, down 0.5% year-over-year, with a median price down 0.7% year-over-year to $367,800. Sales in the West fell 5.4% to 700,000, down 6.7% year-over-year, with a median price up 0.5% year-over-year to $633,500.
