The numbers: Sales of previously-owned homes slid 9.7% in May as the coronavirus pandemic continued to weigh on the U.S. real estate market.
There was a 4.8-month supply of homes for sale in May, down from a 4-month supply in April. Typically, a 6-month supply of homes is considered indicative of a balanced market. Compared to a year ago, though, housing inventory was down 19%.The big picture: The continued downturn in home sales in May was widely expected, given that the pending home sales report for April represented the largest decline since the National Association of Realtors began tracking the data in 2001.
Consequently, the downturn in pending home sales in March and April served as a warning that May’s existing home sales numbers would be down considerably. “The report will probably not show significant improvement until June data are reported in July,” TD Securities wrote in a research note. But not all parts of the country will necessarily see the same rebound. Research from Realtor.com shows that demand for homes may be much higher in the suburbs and rural areas than in cities, based on the number of views that online listings for homes in the suburbs have been getting.