The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports that the seasonally adjusted annual rate of existing home sales in May jumped 5.1% to 5.35 million from an upwardly revised total of 5.09 million in April. The sales rate is the highest since November 2009.

Existing home sales have increased on a year-over-year basis for eight consecutive months and are now 9.2% higher than in May 2014.

The consensus estimate called for sales to reach 5.25 million, according to a survey of economists polled by Bloomberg.

Housing inventory increased by 3.2% in May, to 2.29 million homes, which is equal to a supply of 5.1 months, down slightly from a 5.2-month supply in April, but well above the total of 1.88 million homes in inventory at the end of December 2014..

According to the NAR, the national median existing home price for all housing types in May was $228,700, up 7.9% compared with May 2014, the 39th consecutive month of rising home prices.

NAR’s chief economist said:

Solid sales gains were seen throughout the country in May as more homeowners listed their home for sale and therefore provided greater choices for buyers,” he said. “However, overall supply still remains tight, homes are selling fast and price growth in many markets continues to teeter at or near double-digit appreciation. Without solid gains in new home construction, prices will likely stay elevated — even with higher mortgage rates above 4 percent.

The percentage of first-time buyers rose to 32% in May, up from 30% in April and the highest total since September 2012. In May of 2014, first-time buyers accounted for 27% of all sales.

Sales of single-family homes rose 5.6% from April at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.73 million, up 9.7% compared with May a year ago. Sales of multi-family homes increased by 1.6% year-over-year to an annual rate of 620,000 units.

Foreclosed and short sales accounted for 10% of May sales, down from 11% in May 2014. Foreclosures sold at an average 15% discount to the May median price, and short sales sold at a discount of 16%.

All homes were on the market for an average of just 40 days, the third lowest figure since NAR began tracking in May 2011. Foreclosed homes were on the market for an average of 56 days and short sales took a median of 131 days to sell. Non-distressed homes took 38 days to sell, and 45% of homes sold in May were on the market for less than a month.

The NAR also reported the following regional data:

• May existing-home sales in the Northeast jumped 11.3 percent to an annual rate of 690,000, and are now 11.3 percent above a year ago. The median price in the Northeast was $269,000, which is 4.8 percent higher than May 2014.
• In the Midwest, existing-home sales rose 4.1 percent to an annual rate of 1.27 million in May, and are 12.4 percent above May 2014. The median price in the Midwest was $181,900, up 9.4 percent from a year ago.
• Existing-home sales in the South increased 4.3 percent to an annual rate of 2.18 million in May, and are 6.9 percent above May 2014. The median price in the South was $198,300, up 8.2 percent from a year ago.
• Existing-home sales in the West climbed 4.3 percent to an annual rate of 1.21 million in May, and are 9.0 percent above a year ago. The median price in the West was $324,000, which is 10.2 percent above May 2014.

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