WASHINGTON — Home sales nationwide may have finally hit bottom, new data show, but a host of thorny problems are hindering a recovery.
Sales of previously occupied homes rose by 2.4 percent from April to May — the third monthly increase this year — but the results missed analysts’ expectations.
Home-sellers are still competing against a growing number of bargain- priced foreclosures, buyers are paying higher mortgage rates and new rules for appraisers are delaying or scuttling many deals.
“We have just been flooded with e-mails, telephone calls on the appraisal problems,” said Lawrence Yun, the National Association of Realtors’ chief economist.
The association said Tuesday that home sales rose to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 4.77 million, up from a revised rate of 4.66 million in April.
About one in three homes sold last month was a foreclosure or distressed sale, dragging down the median price to $173,000 — 16.8 percent below a year ago. The Associated Press
