Today the National Association of Realtors released its May report on existing home sales, indicating that closings rose 5.1% to a 5.35 million annualized rate. This article from Bloomberg highlights the details from the report.
More first-time homebuyers took the plunge in May, helping catapult U.S. sales of previously owned properties to their highest level since 2009. First-time buyers accounted for 32% of purchases during the month, matching the highest share since September 2012.
Lower down-payment requirements from government-sponsored enterprises, rising rents and a brighter employment picture are persuading more Americans to become homeowners. The prospect of higher borrowing costs as the Federal Reserve considers raising rates may also be spurring fence-sitters to move forward, an additional boost to a housing market that’s been short on momentum.
“Incomes are doing better and more people are working,” said Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Amherst Pierpont Securities LLC in Stamford, Connecticut, who correctly forecast May sales. “I would imagine we’ll continue to see better demand from first-time buyers.”
Excluding November 2009, when demand was bolstered by the expiration of a federal government first-time homebuyer tax credit, sales last month were the strongest in more than eight years. Demand accelerated in all four major U.S. regions in May and median prices rose at a slower pace.
