May 2021 U.S. Existing-Home Sales Report

The National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales jumped 44.6% from the number of homes sold last May. Existing home sales include all single family, condominium, co-op, and townhomes.

The median price paid for a home in May was $350,300, up 23.6% from last May’s median price of $283,500. There are now 111 straight months of year-over-year increases in the median price.

The unsold inventory level is at a 2.5-month supply, down from a 4.6-month supply one year ago. Inventory was up slightly month-over-month from April when there was a 2.4 month supply. The supply of homes is simply the number of sales in the month divided by the number of homes for sale at the end of the month.

First time buyers accounted for 31% of all purchases. Second-home and investor purchases accounted for 17% of all homes sold. Foreclosures and short sales accounted for less than 1% of all homes sold. All cash purchases accounted for 23% of all transactions.