{"id":74538,"date":"2022-06-17T12:00:32","date_gmt":"2022-06-17T19:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.redfin.com\/news\/?p=74538"},"modified":"2022-06-21T07:13:05","modified_gmt":"2022-06-21T14:13:05","slug":"housing-market-may-home-sales-decline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.redfin.com\/news\/housing-market-may-home-sales-decline\/","title":{"rendered":"Home Sales Post Rare May Decline as Mortgage Rates Rise"},"content":{"rendered":"

Home sales fell in May for only the second time on record, while home prices saw the smallest May increase on record. That helped ease the inventory crunch, with the number of homes for sale posting the smallest drop since 2019.<\/span><\/i><\/h2>\n

Home prices rose 1.5% month over month in May, their smallest increase of any May in Redfin\u2019s records, which go back to 2012. The housing market cooled considerably as mortgage rates climbed to their highest levels since 2009. Seasonally-adjusted home sales fell 3% month over month, their only May decline on record outside of 2020, when the start of the pandemic sent shockwaves through the housing market. Despite this decline in demand, the inventory of homes for sale still fell from a year earlier. As the market remains tight and new listings also decline, May saw the smallest drop in active listings since November 2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sudden and dramatic surge in mortgage rates has been a shock to the system for housing,\u201d said Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather<\/a>. \u201cWith inflation still at 40-year highs, mortgage rates are likely to stay elevated for a while, so the market will have to adjust to this new reality. The good news is that cheap debt is no longer fueling unsustainable home price growth, and existing homeowners are in a good position, holding record high home equity with debt financed at record low mortgage rates. Homebuyers however are facing mortgage rates near 6%, which means the housing-market slowdown will likely continue into the fall, but one silver lining is that homebuyers are facing less competition for the first time in two years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Market Summary<\/th>\nMay 2022<\/th>\nMonth-Over-Month<\/th>\nYear-Over-Year<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Median sale price<\/td>\n$430,600<\/td>\n1.5%<\/td>\n14.8%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Homes sold, seasonally-adjusted<\/td>\n556,200<\/td>\n-3.0%<\/td>\n-10.2%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pending sales, seasonally-adjusted<\/td>\n516,500<\/td>\n0.3%<\/td>\n-9.2%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
New listings, seasonally-adjusted<\/td>\n614,200<\/td>\n0.8%<\/td>\n-4.5%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
All Homes for sale, seasonally-adjusted<\/td>\n1,372,800<\/td>\n-0.7%<\/td>\n-4.3%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Median days on market<\/td>\n16<\/td>\n-1<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Months of supply<\/td>\n1.4<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n0.1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sold above list<\/td>\n59.3%<\/td>\n0.4 pts\u2020<\/sup><\/td>\n5.8 pts\u2020<\/sup><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Median Off-Market Redfin Estimate<\/td>\n$420,600<\/td>\n1.4%<\/td>\n22.3%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Average Sale-to-list<\/td>\n103.1%<\/td>\n0.0 pts\u2020<\/sup><\/td>\n0.9 pts\u2020<\/sup><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Average 30-year fixed mortgage rate<\/a><\/td>\n5.23%<\/td>\n+0.25 pts\u2020<\/sup><\/td>\n+2.27 pts\u2020<\/sup><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
\u2020 – ‘pts’ = percentage point change<\/div>\n

Metro-Level Highlights<\/h3>\n

Competition<\/h4>\n