The US housing market did something interesting in May. It shrugged off higher borrowing costs and kept moving. Existing home sales rose 3.2% to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 4.17 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors, while the national median existing home price landed at $429,300, up 1.3% year-over-year.
Meanwhile, key regional markets like Dallas-Fort Worth posted even stronger price gains. The DFW metro area’s median home price hit $395,000, a 2.6% increase compared to the same month last year, based on Zillow and NTREIS data.
Rates went up, sales didn’t go down
Mortgage rates rose to approximately 6.53% during May, up from 6.30% earlier, pushed higher by a cocktail of geopolitical uncertainty and sticky inflation.
Pending home sales showed six consecutive months of year-over-year increases. New listings also inched higher, suggesting that some homeowners who had been clinging to their sub-4% pandemic-era mortgages are finally starting to let go.
