The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports that the seasonally adjusted annual rate of existing home sales in May rose 1.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.53 million from a downwardly revised total of 5.43 million in April.

The consensus estimate called for sales to reach 5.57 million, according to a survey of economists polled by Bloomberg.

The NAR’s chief economist said:

This spring’s sustained period of ultra-low mortgage rates has certainly been a worthy incentive to buy a home, but the primary driver in the increase in sales is more homeowners realizing the equity they’ve accumulated in recent years and finally deciding to trade-up or downsize. With first-time buyers still struggling to enter the market, repeat buyers using the proceeds from the sale of their previous home as their down payment are making up the bulk of home purchases right now.

Housing inventory increased by 1.4% in May, to 2.15 million homes, which is equal to a supply of 4.7 months, unchanged compared with April.

According to the NAR, the national median existing home price for all housing types in May was $239,700, up 4.7% compared with May 2015, the 50th consecutive month of rising home prices. In April the national median price was $232,500.

The percentage of first-time buyers slipped to 30% in May, a decrease of two percentage points both year over year and month over month.

Sales of single-family homes rose 1.9% from the April total to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.9 million, and up 4.7% compared with May 2015. Sales of multifamily homes rose 1.6% in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 630,000 units.

All homes were on the market for an average of 32 days in May, down from 39 days in April. Foreclosed and non-distressed homes were on the market for an average of 51 and 30 days, respectively, and short sales took a median of 103 days to sell.

The NAR also reported the following regional data:

• May existing-home sales in the Northeast rose 4.1% year over year to an annual rate of 770,000, and are now 11.6% above a year ago. The median price in the Northeast was $268,600, down 0.1% compared with May 2015.
• In the Midwest, existing-home sales decreased 6.5% to an annual rate of 1.3 million in May and are now 3.2% higher than May 2015 sales. The median price in the Midwest was $190,000, up 4.8% from a year ago.
• Existing-home sales in the South rose 4.6% in May to an annual rate of 2.28 million, and are now 6.5% above May 2015 sales. The median price in the South was $211,500, up 5.9% from a year ago.
• Existing-home sales in the West increased by 5.1% to an annual rate of 1.18 million in May, and are now 1.7% lower than a year ago. The median price in the West was $346,900, up 7.7% compared with the May 2015 median.

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