Economics

Sales of Previously Owned Homes Fall to an Almost Two-Year Low

  • Purchases dropped 3.4% in May, fourth straight monthly decline
  • Median selling price soars above $400,000 on higher end sales
Single-family homes in San Diego, California.Photographer: Bing Guan/Bloomberg
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Sales of previously owned US homes fell for a fourth month in May, receding to the lowest level in nearly two years and underscoring how high prices and a surge in mortgage rates have stifled demand.

Contract closings decreased 3.4% in May from the prior month to an annualized 5.41 million, the weakest since June 2020, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed Tuesday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 5.4 million.