The Commerce Department reported on Tuesday that housing starts increased 5.0 percent to a rate of 1.350 million units in May. Housing completions increased 1.9 percent to a rate of 1.291 million units last month.

Still, both starts and completions remain below the range of 1.5 million to 1.6 million units that realtors and economists said is needed to ease the supply squeeze.

According to the NAR, sales of homes priced below $100,000 plunged about 18 percent in May from a year ago. Houses for sale typically stayed on the market for 26 days in May, matching April’s seven-year low and slightly down from 27 days a year ago. Fifty-eight percent of homes sold in May were on the market for less than a month.

First-time buyers accounted for 31 percent of transactions in May, down from 33 percent in both April and May 2017. Economists and realtors say a 40 percent share of first-time buyers is needed for a robust housing market.

Find the complete report at https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/20/existing-home-sales-may.html