Home Resales Rise Again in May

Washington, DC, June 23, 2009--Falling house prices boosted resales in May to the highest level since October, the National Association of Realtors estimated Tuesday.

Resales rose 2.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.77 million, the trade group said. Sales have risen in three of the past four months, and are down 3.6% in the past year.

The sales increase was less than the 4.85 million rate expected by economists.  The median sales price fell 16.8% in the past year to $173,000, the third largest year-over-year decline on record. Inventories of unsold homes fell 3.5% to 3.80 million, representing a 9.6-month supply at the May sales pace.