LOS ANGELES — Home resales dipped 1.5 percent in May from April but were up substantially from a year ago, along with property prices, said the National Association of Realtors.
Last month, resales slipped to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.55 million from 4.62 million in April but were up 9.6 percent from May 2011, according to the report.
The median price soared 7.9 percent to $182,600 from a year ago, marking the third year-over-year gain in a row — the first time that has happened since 2006. Analysts from Credit Suisse called the firming prices, now at their highest level since June 2010, “the silver lining” of the report.
Sales of single-family homes were 1 percent lower than April but 10.4 percent higher than May 2011. The price for such properties spiked 7.7 percent from 2011 to $182,900.
The report, which also factors in townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, blamed the dip from April on tight supply of properties rather than softening demand. The inventory of listed homes for sale is 20.4 percent smaller than a year ago, according to the Realtors association.
Mortgage rates are again at record lows, building permits are at more than a three-year high, and single-family housing starts are increasing.
Heavily discounted foreclosures and short sales make up a substantial but shrinking portion of home buys — 25 percent in May, down from 31 percent a year earlier. First-time buyers, however, make up a third of the pool, a smaller portion than before.
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Rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages falls to another record • WASHINGTON — The average U.S. rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell this week to a record low for the seventh time in eight weeks. Cheap mortgages have helped drive a modest recovery in the weak housing market this year.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average on the 30-year loan dropped to 3.66 percent. That’s down from 3.71 percent last week and the lowest since long-term mortgages began in the 1950s.
The average rate on the 15-year mortgage, a popular refinancing option, declined to 2.95 percent. That’s down from 2.98 percent last week and just above the record 2.94 percent reached two weeks ago. The rate on the 30-year loan has been below 4 percent since December.
Low rates could provide some help to the economy if more people refinance. When people refinance at lower rates, they pay less interest on their loans and have more money to spend.
Still, the pace of home sales remains well below healthy levels. Sales of previously occupied homes dipped in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.55 million, although they are up from the same month last year.
Mortgage rates have been dropping because they tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note. Uncertainty about how Europe will resolve its debt crisis has led investors to buy more Treasury securities, which are considered safe investments.
The Associated Press
