国际英语新闻：U.S. existing home sales down 2.2 percent in May

WASHINGTON, June 22 (Xinhua) -- Existing home sales in the United States declined by 2.2 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.66 million units, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported on Tuesday.

The sales in May, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased by 19. 2 percent from the 4.75-million-unit pace in May 2009.

April sales were revised to show an 8.0-percent monthly gain.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said he expects one more month of elevated home sales.

"We are witnessing the ongoing effects of the home buyer tax credit, which we'll also see in June real estate closings," Yun said in a statement.

"However, approximately 180,000 home buyers who signed a contract in good faith to receive the tax credit may not be able to finalize by the end of June due to delays in the mortgage process, particularly for short sales," he added.

The Obama administration had boosted home sales by offering buyers tax credits of up to 8,000 dollars.

As the leading advocate for homeownership issues, NAR is supporting Senate amendments to extend the home buyer tax credit closing deadline through Sept. 30 for contracts written by April 30, and to renew the flood insurance program.

"Sales and related local economic activity would have been higher without delays in the closing process or flood insurance issues," Yun noted.

According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage fell to 4.89 percent in May from 5.10 percent in April. The rate was 4.86 percent in May 2009.

The national median existing-home price for all housing types was 179,600 dollars in May, up 2.7 percent from May 2009.

Distressed homes slipped to 31 percent of sales last month, compared with 33 percent in April. It was also 33 percent in May 2009.

Total housing inventory at the end of May fell 3.4 percent to 3. 89 million existing homes available for sale, which represents an 8.3-month supply at the current sales pace, compared with an 8.4- month supply in April.

Raw unsold inventory is 1.1 percent above a year ago, but is still 14.9 percent below the record of 4.58 million in July 2008.

According to a report released earlier this month by the Commerce Department, U.S. housing construction in May declined 10 percent, while new building permits also fell sharply.

The burst of the housing bubble triggered the global financial crisis that plunged the U.S. economy into recession in December 2007.

Many economists believe that the U.S. housing market remains in the woods.