Existing-home sales In Orange County

ncluding single-family, townhomes, condos and co-oops — increased by 2 percent in May from a level of 4.89 million units in April, according to a report from the National Association of Realtors. Total housing inventory at the end of May fell 1.4 percent. This represents a 10.8-month supply at the current sales pace, down from a 11.2-month supply in the previous month.

Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, added this note:

“The large supply of homes on the market clearly favors buyers, and it should take several months to draw the inventory down significantly. Stabilization in home prices can only occur with buyers returning to the market, so we are encouraged by rising home sales, particularly in distressed markets.” You can find several homes in Orange County at Http://www.OCPropertyLink.com

Another indication of an improving real estate market was noted by Frank Nothaft, chief economist for Freddie Mac. “The recently released S&P-Case Shiller house price indexes for April offer a few surprises,” he said. “The decline in the 20-city composite index was less than that in March, and eight cities had positive monthly growth in April, compared to only two cities in March. Also, May’s new home median sales price increased from the prior month, according to the Commerce Department.”