NAR Existing-Home Sales Report Shows 3.2% Increase in May

MARKET CONDITIONSEXISTING-HOME SALES

National Association of REALTORS®

6/10/20264 min read

NAR Existing-Home Sales Report Shows 3.2% Increase in May

National Association of REALTORS®, Media Relations | June 9, 2026

Month-Over-Month

  • 3.2% increase in existing-home sales

  • 3.3% increase in unsold inventory—1.55 million units equal to 4.5 months’ supply

Year-Over-Year

  • 3.2% increase in existing-home sales—seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.17 million in May

  • 1.3% increase in median existing-home sales price to $429,300

WASHINGTON (June 9, 2026) – Existing-home sales increased by 3.2% month-over-month and year-over-year, according to the National Association of REALTORS® 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.

“More Americans are on the move, with home sales rising to the highest level since December. This is great news for the housing market and the economy,” said NAR Chief Economist Dr. Lawrence Yun. “Improving affordability is helping drive this momentum. 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,” Yun said. “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

Total Existing-Home Sales for May

  • 3.2% increase in existing-home sales month-over-month.

  • 3.2% increase in existing-home sales year-over-year to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.17 million.

Inventory in May

  • 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 in May

  • $429,300: Median existing-home price for all housing types

  • 1.3% increase from one year ago ($423,700)—the 35th consecutive month of year-over-year price increases.

Housing Affordability in May

The Housing Affordability Index registered at 105.6, up from 97.5 a year ago.

Year-over-year, affordability improved across all regions.

  • Northeast +5.1%

  • Midwest +6.6%

  • South +8.4%

  • West +11.0%

Single-Family and Condo/Co-op Sales

Single-Family Homes in May

  • 3.5% increase in sales 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 in May

  • No change in sales month-over-month with a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 370,000

  • 2.8% increase from last year.

  • $378,200: Median price, up 1.7% from May 2025.

Regional Snapshot for Existing-Home Sales in 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

  • 29 days: Median time on market for properties, down from 32 days last month; Up from 27 days in May 2025

  • 35% of sales were first-time homebuyers, up from 33% in April; Up from 30% one year ago

  • 25% of transactions were cash sales, unchanged from last month; Down from 27% in May 2025

  • 14% of transactions were individual investors or second-home buyers, down from 16% last month; Down from 17% one year ago

  • 1% of sales were distressed sales (foreclosures and short sales), down from 2% last month; Down from 3% one year ago

Mortgage Rates

6.44%: The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage in May, according to Freddie Mac, up from 6.33% in April and down from 6.82% one year ago.

About the National Association of REALTORS®

The National Association of REALTORS® 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.

Existing-home sales, which include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, are based on transaction closings from Multiple Listing Services. Changes in sales trends outside of MLSs are not captured in the monthly series. NAR benchmarks home sales periodically using other sources to assess overall home sales trends, including sales not reported by MLSs.

Existing-home sales, based on closings, differ from the U.S. Census Bureau’s series on new single-family home sales, which are based on contracts or the acceptance of a deposit. Because of these differences, it is not uncommon for each series to move in different directions in the same month. In addition, existing-home sales, which account for more than 90% of total home sales, are based on a much larger data sample – about 40% of multiple listing service data each month – and typically are not subject to large prior-month revisions.

The annual rate for a particular month represents what the total number of actual sales for a year would be if the relative pace for that month were maintained for 12 consecutive months. Seasonally adjusted annual rates are used in reporting monthly data to factor out seasonal variations in resale activity. For example, home sales volume is normally higher in the summer than in the winter, primarily because of differences in the weather and family buying patterns. However, seasonal factors cannot compensate for abnormal weather patterns.

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