Home Resales Rise Again in May

Washington, DC, June 23, 2009–Falling house prices boosted resales in May to the highest level since October, the National Association of Realtors estimated Tuesday.

Resales rose 2.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.77 million, the trade group said. Sales have risen in three of the past four months, and are down 3.6% in the past year.

The sales increase was less than the 4.85 million rate expected by economists.  The median sales price fell 16.8% in the past year to $173,000, the third largest year-over-year decline on record. Inventories of unsold homes fell 3.5% to 3.80 million, representing a 9.6-month supply at the May sales pace.