Trends in Existing Home Sales in May 2009
There was significant variation in home sales trends across US regions both in terms of size and direction. In terms of monthly trends, the Midwest registered the best performance as existing home sales increased by 9%. The West registered the worst monthly performance as existing home sales declined by 0.9%. Existing home sales in May 2009 remained stable in the South and increased in the Northeast by 3.9% compared to April 2009.
Trends in sales of single-family homes were somewhat different from the aggregate trends presented above, which included also condos and coops. In particular, existing single family home sales increased in May 2009 by 1.9% from their April 2009 level, but on an annual basis they dropped 3% from their May 2008 level. On a monthly basis, the best performing region was the Midwest, where sales increased by 8.6%, while the worst performing region was the West, where sales decreased by 1.9%. Single-family home sales in the Northeast increased 5.2% from their April level, while they declined by 0.6% in the South. On an annual basis, the best performing region was the West, where sales increased by 10.6%, while the worst performing region was the South, where sales dropped 9.7%. The Northeast and the Midwest registered also declines of 6.2% and 1.9%, respectively, from their May 2008 level.
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