U.S. existing home sales rise at highest pace since 2007

Existing home sales in the United States rose in May to their highest pace in almost a decade, as repeat buyers are more willing to buy houses amid a good job market, an industry report showed Wednesday.

Total existing home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 1.8 percent from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.53 million in May, 4.5 percent above a year ago, said the National Association of Realtors (NAR). That was the highest level since February 2007.

May's sales increase was primarily driven by "more homeowners realizing the equity they've accumulated in recent years and finally deciding to trade-up or downsize," said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun.

"With first-time buyers still struggling to enter the market, repeat buyers using the proceeds from the sale of their previous homes as their down payment are making up the bulk of home purchases right now," said Yun.

"Barring further deceleration in job growth that could ultimately temper demand from these repeat buyers, sales have the potential to mostly maintain their current pace through the summer," Yun added.

Total housing inventory at the end of May increased 1.4 percent to 2.15 million existing homes available for sales, which represents a 4.7-month supply at the current sales pace.

The median existing home price for all housing types in May was 239,700 U.S. dollars, 4.7 percent above the level a year ago, surpassing the peak median sales price set last June. Endit