Existing home sales in the US rose by a modest 0.75% MoM in May (better than the -1.3% MoM expected), but remain down 0.75% YoY...

Source: Bloomberg

This is the fourth straight month of YoY declines for existing home sales (down 4% on an unadjusted basis compared with a year ago).

“The relatively subdued sales are largely due to persistently high mortgage rates,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement.

And don't expect any help from rates going forward...

Source: Bloomberg

Overall, this was the weakest May sales pace since 2009...

Source: Bloomberg

...and the second worst May ever.

“We can no longer blame it on the supply,” Yun said on a call with reporters about the tepid sales pace.

“Supply is showing up, so we can blame it on affordability.”

Meantime, the higher supply has failed to bring down prices. The median sales price last month increased 1.3% from a year ago to $422,800, the highest for any May on record, NAR data show.

Yun noted that the upper end of the market - houses selling for at least $1 million - is no longer outperforming sales of lower-priced houses.

Prices are up 51% from the start of the pandemic five years ago.

First-time buyers made up 30% of closings in May, showing they “are struggling to get into the market,” Yun said.

Interestingly, Yun said Realtors are asking if hedge funds, which make up big share of buyers in Sun Belt states, have been dumping homes on the market lately, causing recent price fluctuations.