Existing Home Sales illuminate the bright spot real estate can provide our economy and the long-term economic outlook.

What is the Existing Home Sales report? The report measures sales of pre-owned single-family homes, condos and co-ops, as reported by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) from 650 local associations. It covers geographical numbers, prices, inventory and the number of months it would take to deplete the existing supply of pre-owned houses.

What’s happened recently? The NAR reported that May Existing Home Sales rose by 1.8 percent from April to an annual rate of 5.53 million, above expectations. The median home price jumped 4.7 percent to $239,700 from a year ago. Existing Home Sales were also up 4.5 percent from May 2015.

What’s the bottom line? The rise in May Existing Home Sales reflects a more than nine-year high, and NAR noted the main reason for the upturn was homeowners taking advantage of accumulated equity to trade-up or downsize. While sales of new homes did decline in May from April, the housing sector remains a bright spot in the economy overall, and suggests the economy is still on solid footing despite recent slowdowns in job growth.

With home loan rates still near historic lows, opportunities abound for homebuyers and homeowners in the near future.

I’ll continue to watch economic reports closely, but if you have any immediate questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.