Existing-Home Sales Increased to 4.03 million SAAR in May; Down 0.7% YoY

by Calculated Risk on 6/23/2025 10:00:00 AM

From the NAR: NAR Existing-Home Sales Report Shows 0.8% Increase in May

Existing-home sales rose in May, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Sales elevated in the Northeast, Midwest and South, but retreated in the West. Year-over-year, sales progressed in the Northeast and Midwest but contracted in the South and West. …

• 0.8% increase in total existing-home sales month-over-month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.03 million.

• 0.7% decrease year-over-year, sales declined 0.7% (down from 4.06 million in May 2024).

• 1.54 million units: Total housing inventory, up 6.2% from April and 20.3% from May 2024 (1.28 million).

• 4.6-month supply of unsold inventory, up from 4.4 months in April and 3.8 months in May 2024.
emphasis added

Click on graph for larger image.

This graph shows existing home sales, on a Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) basis since 1994.

Sales in May (4.03 million SAAR) were up 0.8% from the previous month and were 0.7% below the May 2024 sales rate. This was the 4th consecutive month with a year–over-year decline in sales.

The second graph shows nationwide inventory for existing homes.

According to the NAR, inventory increased to 1.54 million in May from 1.45 million the previous month.

Headline inventory is not seasonally adjusted, and inventory usually decreases to the seasonal lows in December and January, and peaks in mid-to-late summer.

The last graph shows the year-over-year (YoY) change in reported existing home inventory and months-of-supply. Since inventory is not seasonally adjusted, it really helps to look at the YoY change. Note: Months-of-supply is based on the seasonally adjusted sales and not seasonally adjusted inventory.