Higher gas prices and severe weather lead to a slow sales month for previously owned homes in May. According to the National Association of Realtors, existing-home sales fell 3.8 percent, though economists expected a deeper drop. Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said temporary factors held the market back in May but the pace of sales activity in the second half of the year is expected to be stronger than the first half, and much stronger than the second half of last year. Total housing inventory at the end of May was down 1.0 percent to 3.72 million existing homes. More here and here.
