WASHINGTON, DC—Sales of existing homes of allkinds posted a strong month-over-month gain of 4.9% in May, theNational Association of Realtors said Monday.However, the figures on for-sale apartments,including condominiums and co-ops, were flat compared to April,while single-family homes posted a 5.7% increase, The seasonallyadjusted annual rate of 4.89 million sales for the month beatconsensus estimates from 70 economists polled by Bloomberg, who hadpredicted a median of 4.74 million units.

“Home buyers are benefiting from slower price growth due to themuch-needed, rising inventory levels seen since the beginning ofthe year,” driven in part by a lackluster first quarter, saysLawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist. “Moreover,sales were helped by the improving job market and the temporary butslight decline in mortgage rates.”

The median price of existing homes that sold during May was$213,400, a 5.1% year-over-year increase. For condos and co-ops,the Y-O-Y gain was even greater at 6.6%. However, the annualizedrate of single-family and multifamily home sales was 5% below the5.15 million units seen in May 2013, according to NAR.