Existing-home Inventories Rise to 15-year high

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By Rex Nutting

RISMEDIA, June 27, 2007–(MarketWatch)–The inventory of previously owned homes for sale in May rose to the highest level in relation to sales in 15 years, a real estate trade group said Monday.

Sales of existing homes fell 0.3% in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.99 million from 6.01 million in April, the National Association of Realtors reported. Sales were stronger than the 5.90 million pace expected by economists surveyed by MarketWatch.

Inventories of homes on the market rose by 5% to a record 4.43 million, representing an 8.9-month supply at the May sales pace. That’s the biggest overhang of inventory since June 1992, at the tail end of the last housing bust. The median price of a home sold in May was $223,700, down 2.1% compared with May 2006.

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Sunday, March 21, 2010