Home prices

While home-buying season was on hold due to the coronavirus, a dearth in supply could hamper any big rebound in sales.

The coronavirus lockdown walloped California house sales in May, resulting in a 41.4% drop in transactions from the previous year, the California Association of Realtors reported.

House listings in the Twin Cities metro during May were down nearly 25% compared with last year.

Potential sales last month rose compared with April as homes became more affordable due to low mortgage rates.

Prices have continued to rise, although the pandemic closures have slowed that down: The region's median sales price last month was $257,048, up 1.6% from May 2019, according to Georgia MLS.

The coronavirus put a dent in May's home sales and inventory, but some indicators offer hope for a turnaround on the horizon.

The number of existing, single-family home sales that closed last month fell 51.1% compared with the same month last year and the median price dropped 2.5%, according to the California Association of Realtors.

The report by Unison also advised investors to focus on "diversified residential real estate" over traditional retail and office spaces.

The number of homes sold in Central Florida sunk dramatically in May, an indication of the anxieties swirling around Orlando's previously booming market and the wide-reaching effects of the economic fallout caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

In the thick of the pandemic in Greater Hartford, home sales took it on the chin, falling nearly 13% in May, compared with a year ago, but sale prices held their own, rising slightly.