New-home inventory rose to 444,000 homes in May from 437,000 homes in April, the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reported.  

Meanwhile, existing-home sales slid 3.4% from April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.41 million, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. 

Home prices rose 3.9% month over month and 23.1% year over year to hit that milestone, RE/MAX said.

New-home completions rose during the month, however, with the increased inventory representing a rare bright spot in an otherwise gloomy government report. 

The median sales price of an Atlanta home was up 20.6% from a year earlier, at $409,400, Georgia MLS reported. 

Home sales and days on the market in Atlanta both declined.

Nationally, the index posted its highest annual increase ever.

The county far outpaced its neighbors in terms of housing starts, closings and lot deliveries in the first quarter, according to a new report from asset manager and developer St. Bourke. 

Nevertheless, home prices are expected to continue rising through the end of the year, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. 

The record-high price for Atlanta real estate was set in April, as home sales fell 13.8% from a year ago. 

The rate of new single-family home sales fell 16.6% from March’s revised number, while the median sales price jumped to $450,600 from March’s revised median house price of $435,000. 

The inventory of unsold homes increased in April, while the median existing-home sales price rose, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.

“Builders are responding to higher mortgage rates and are chasing rising rents, with fewer homebuyers and more renters being forced to renew their leases.” — NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun 

The release of the monthly survey from the National Association of Home Builders comes as the Biden Administration unveiled a housing-supply action plan that aims to boost the supply of affordable apartments and new homes. 

The data illustrates the struggle for first-time homebuyers trying to get a foot in the housing door in the country’s largest markets.

Despite a slow start to the spring homebuying season, prospective buyers are showing some resiliency in the face of higher mortgage rates, as seen by two weeks in a row of increasing loan applications.