National Association of Realtors statistics show home sales down in May

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports that sales of existing homes in the Northeast fell by 29.9% in May as compared with May 2019.

Nationally, single-family sales were down 24.8% from the same period a year ago while condominium sales dropped a dramatic 41.4%. Condo prices were down 1.6% and the NAR said single-family home prices showed an increase of 2.4% from May 2019.

There were 3,910,000 existing homes in the U.S. sold during May of this year compared with 5,330,000 sold in May 2019. The national median existing-home price for all types of housing in May 2020 was $284,600, up from the $278,200 in May 2019.

In the Northeast, the median price was $327,900 in May compared with $304,200 a year ago. In the Midwest, the median price in May was $227,400 compared with $220,800 in May 2019. In the West, this year”™s median existing home price was $408,400 compared with $409,300 a year ago. In the South, the median sale price of existing homes was $247,400 compared with $242,300 in May 2019.

The Northeast”™s 29.9% decline in the number of units sold was slightly better than what happened in the West. Sales there were off 35.1% year over year. In the South, the decline was 25.1%. In the Midwest existing home sales fell 20.2%.

In comparing sales for May 2020 with sales in April 2020, the NAR found that sales in the Northeast were off by 13%, with the Western region down 11.1%. The Midwest fell 10% and the South was off by 12%.

The nationwide inventory stood at 1,550,000 units for May compared with 1,910,000 units available for sale in May 2019. The NAR said it would take 4.8 months to move the current inventory if the current sales pace is maintained. It said the approximately 26 days it takes for a home to go from listing to contract is unchanged from a year ago.

According to the NAR”™s official website, realtor.com, the median listing price of homes in Westchester County during May 2020 was $659,900. The median sale price was $575,000 and the median price per square foot was $306. The website said Westchester was a buyer”™s market in May because the supply was greater than the demand.

Realtor.com said that in May, Fairfield County also was a buyer”™s market. The median listing home price was $619,000, the median selling price was $520,000 and the median listing price per square foot was $246.