Traditional, non-lender-mediated home sales, (which are not short sales or foreclosures) increased in May. The number of traditional home sales is on the rise. Only 43.0% of the pending sales in May were lender-mediated, compared to 59.4% in January.

Because of the decrease in lender-mediated sales, the average median price went up $12,000 from last month to $165,000 in May. The median price of traditional home sales in May was $214,000, down 4.3% from a year ago. While lender-mediated home sales were down 20.8% from a year ago.

Another positive sign for the housing market was the increase in the number of signed purchase agreements in May. This was an increase of 17.3% from this time last year, marking the 11th consecutive month of year-over-year increases.

The number of properties for sale at the end of May was down 19.0% from this time last year. That represents a 7.6 months supply available, down 26.9% from this time last year. We are heading back to a more balanced market that has a 5 to 6 month supply of homes for sale.