U.S. Existing Home Sales Slide for Fourth Straight Month
2022.06.21 18:01
By Scott Kanowsky
Investing.com — Existing home sales in the U.S. dropped for a fourth straight month in May, falling to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.41M units, according to data from the National Association of Realtors.
Sales declined by 3.4% compared to April and 8.6% on an yearly basis – the weakest reading since June 2020, but above analyst expectations of 5.39M.
“Further sales declines should be expected in the upcoming months given housing affordability challenges from the sharp rise in mortgage rates this year,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.
Meanwhile, total housing inventory came in at 1.16M units, increasing on a monthly basis but declining by 4.1% compared to the same period last year. A recent dearth of supply, along with rising mortgage rates and growth in home prices, have combined to weigh on affordability in the U.S. real estate market.
Yun said Tuesday’s data may suggest a cooling in the red-hot housing market, adding that home sales have “essentially returned to the levels seen in 2019 – prior to the pandemic.”
The U.S. dollar index is slightly lower following the release of the data, trading down -0.38% at 104.30 as of 10:28 EST (1428 GMT).
