May existing home sales fall to 6-month low (by Greg Robb)
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Sales of existing single-family homes and condos fell 3.8% in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.81 million, the National Association of Realtors reported Tuesday. This is the lowest level since November. The decline was in line with forecasts. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expected sales to fall to 4.80 million units in May, based on a sharp 12% drop in pending home sales in April. Existing home sales fell a revised 1.8% in April to 5.0 million units, down from the initial estimate of a 0.8% fall to 5.05 million units. The median price of homes sold was down 4.6% in May from last year at $166,500. Inventories of existing homes for sale fell 1.0% to 3.72 million units in May, representing a 9.3 months' supply, up from 9.0 months in April.