Pending Home Sales Rise 8% in May

New data from the National Association of Realtors^® (NAR) shows pending home sales jumped 8 percent in May, up more than 13 percent from the same period in 2020.

The association monitors home sales trends in four U.S. regions, all of which saw sales rise in the month of May.

The Midwest saw sales rise 6.7 percent from April, while the northeast saw sales jump 15.5 percent from April to May. Sales rose nearly 11 percent in the west and nearly 5 percent in the south compared to April transactions, NAR data shows.

“May’s strong increase in transactions, following April’s decline, as well as a sudden erosion in home affordability, was indeed a surprise,” says Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “The housing market is attracting buyers due to the decline in mortgage rates, which fell below 3 percent, and from an uptick in listings.”

NAR says the strong pending home sales figures show despite obstacles, including stalled sales in the earliest months of COVID-19 and a record-low housing inventory, buyers are ready to invest in real estate.

“Home price growth will steadily moderate with increased supply, but a broad and prolonged decline in prices is unlikely. However, if a reduction occurs in some markets, homebuyers will view the lower home price as a second-chance opportunity to get into the market after being outbid in previous multiple-bid market conditions,” Yun says.

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