Purchase applications slowed to their lowest level since May as economic worries dampened activity, the Mortgage Bankers Association said. 

May’s 1.8% monthly gain follows a 6.3% drop in April, the National Association of REALTORS® said. 

The pace of home-price appreciation slowed to its most modest pace since 2023, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index. 

The median-sales price for an existing home rose 1.3% year over year to $422,800. 

Nationally, home sales slid 3.5% year over year but rose 8.6% month over month, RE/MAX said. 

Homebuilder sentiment recently reached its third-lowest level since 2012. 

The Mortgage Bankers Association said the post-Memorial Day increase came despite economic uncertainty and largely static interest rates. 

The Northeast and Midwest remained strong, while Florida, which saw a major runup in prices in recent years, continued to cool. 

The 6.3% month-over-month decline was the steepest the U.S. market has seen since September 2022. 

In Denver, home prices rose 1.35% year over year and 1.08% month over month in March. 

Nationally, home sales slid 1.4% year over year but increased 11.3% month over month, RE/MAX said. 

The association noted, however, that 90% of the responses to its survey tracking homebuilder sentiment were received before the announcement of a 90-day reprieve in U.S.-China tariffs. 

The most recent Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey shows homebuyer activity continued despite the economic uncertainty. 

Homes that are professionally staged not only attract more attention from potential buyers — they also sell faster and for more money, according to data from the National Association of Realtors’® 2025 Profile of Home Staging.  

Despite the deceleration, the company, formerly known as CoreLogic, expects prices to rise another 4.9% over the next year.

The National Association of REALTORS’® Pending Home Sales Index rose 6.9% in March, compared to economists’ expectations of a smaller 1% gain.