Washington, DC, June 26, 2008--Existing homes sale edged up in May as prices continued to fall, the National Association of Realtors said.
Resales of U.S. houses and condos rose 2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 4.99 million in May from 4.89 million in April. It's the highest sales pace since February.
Resales have sunk 15.9% in the past year and are down 31% from the peak in 2005. The pace of sales has been relatively stable since August at around a 5 million annual pace.
About a third of total sales are distressed sales, such as foreclosures or short sales, said Paul Bishop, senior economist for NAR.
Many sales of foreclosed homes wouldn't be counted in the realtors' survey because they do not go through the multiple listing service.
Inventories of unsold homes on the market fell 1.4% to 4.49 million, a 10.8-month supply at the May sales pace. The inventory figures are not seasonally adjusted. Inventories are up 2.4% in the past year.
The median sales price in May was $208,600, down 6.3% compared with a year ago.
"It'd be premature to say the improvement marks a turnaround," said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist.
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