Sales of existing single-family residential properties edged up higher across the country in May according to the latest report by the National Association of Realtors.

It was only the second time in ten months that sales have increased.

The pace of home sales rose 2 percent in May from April, though sales are still lagging 15.9 percent from last year’s levels. Overall, sales are down 31 percent from their peak in 2005.

The median sales price for existing homes was $208,600.00, down 6.3 percent from a year ago.

In the South, sales fell 0.5 percent from last month to a level 17.0 percent below that of last year. The median home price was $175,000.00, down 4.3 percent from May 2007.

Contributing to the uptick in sales last month were distressed sales such as foreclosures and short sales. Economists project such sales make up about a third of all existing-home sales.

While the increase in existing home sales is certainly encouraging, it is still too early to call an overall market turnaround. With home prices continuing to deteriorate, foreclosures continuing to increase, and housing inventories hovering near an eleven-month supply, the real estate market still has some time to go before there’s a sustained recovery.

Still, as prices have fallen, housing has become more affordable, and the latest sales figures do show that more purchasers have decided that now is the time to buy.

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