NAR Existing-Home Sales Report shows 3.2% increase in May

Existing-home sales increased by 3.2% month over month and year over year, according to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) Existing-Home Sales Report. The report provides the real estate ecosystem—including agents, homebuyers and sellers—with data on the level of home sales, price, and inventory.

Month-over-month sales increased in the Northeast, Midwest, and South, and were unchanged in the West. Year-over-year sales rose in the Midwest, South, and West, and fell in the Northeast.

“Improving affordability is helping drive this momentum,” said NAR Chief Economist Dr. Lawrence Yun. “Even with mortgage rates ticking up compared to earlier in the year, they remain lower than a year ago and are essentially at the long-term historical average. Income gains are also outpacing home price growth by a small margin in most parts of the country. The new record-high May home price reflects solid fundamentals for homeowners and ongoing supply constraints. Only 1% of all home sales involved a foreclosure or an underwater situation in which the sale price could not cover the outstanding mortgage balance. This shows that homeowners are on solid financial footing.

“Increased home sales mean more economic activity—lawn care, furniture purchases, moving services, mortgage originations, and other related business activities all get a boost,” Yun added.

National snapshot for May

Existing-home sales

• 3.2% increase month over month
• 3.2% increase year over year to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.17 million

Inventory

• 1.55 million units (total housing inventory), up 3.3% from April and up 0.6% from May 2025
• 4.5-month supply of unsold inventory, no change from last month and down slightly from 4.6 months one year ago

Median sales price

• $429,300 (for all housing types), up1.3% from one year ago ($423,700)—the 35th consecutive month of year-over-year price increases
•  6.44% average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, according to Freddie Mac, up from 6.33% in April and down from 6.82% one year ago

Housing affordability

The Housing Affordability Index registered at 105.6, up from 97.5 a year ago, with affordability improving across all regions year over year:

• Northeast: +5.1%
• Midwest: +6.6%
• South: +8.4%
• West: +11.0%

Single-family and condo/co-op sales

Single-family homes

• 3.5% increase month over month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.8 million, up 3.3% from May 2025
• $434,300 median home price, up 1.3% from last year

Condominiums and co-ops

• No change in sales month over month, with a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 370,000, a 2.8% increase from last year 
• $378,200 median price, up 1.7% from May 2025

Regional snapshot for May

Northeast

• 2.2% increase in sales month over month to an annual rate of 460,000, down 8.0% year over year
• $534,900 median price, up 4.2% from May 2025

Midwest

• 6.4% increase in sales month over month to an annual rate of 1.0 million, up 2.0% year over year
• $336,300 median price, up 2.8% from May 2025

South

• 3.2% increase in sales month over month to an annual rate of 1.96 million, up 5.9% year over year
• $373,100 median price, up 1.1% from May 2025

West

• No change in sales month over month, with an annual rate of 750,000, up 5.6% from last year
• $625,900 median price, down 0.7% from May 2025

REALTORS Confidence Index for May

• Median time on market: 29 days, down from 32 days last month but up from 27 days in May 2025
• First-time homebuyers: 35% of sales, up from 33% in April and up from 30% one year ago
• Cash sales: 25% of transactions, unchanged from last month but down from 27% in May 2025
• Individual investors or second-home buyers: 14% of transactions, down from 16% last month and down from 17% one year ago
• distressed sales (foreclosures and short sales): 1% of sales, down from 2% last month and down from 3% one year ago

About the National Association of REALTORS®

The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) is involved in all aspects of residential and commercial real estate. The term REALTOR® is a registered collective membership mark that identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics. For free consumer guides about navigating the homebuying and selling transaction processes—from written buyer agreements to negotiating compensation—visit facts.realtor.