The U.S. housing market logged its slowest May for existing-home sales since 2009, confirming that elevated mortgage rates and record prices continue to chill demand even as listings rise.
What Happened: Sales slipped 0.7% from a year earlier to an annual rate of 4.03 million, the National Association of Realtors said, leaving activity about 25% below pre-pandemic norms.
Existing-home transactions inched up 0.8% from April but remained at their weakest May pace since the aftermath of the Great Recession. NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun called the numbers “very stable, but at the sluggish sales activity level.”
Median prices have jumped 52% since May 2019 while wages rose …