Home Sales Slide to Six-Month Low in May

The housing market continued to flounder in May, as existing home sales fell to a six-month low.

Existing home sales dropped 3.8 percent to a rate of 4.81 million in May, down from 5.0 million in April, according to the National Association of Realtors. It marked the second straight month in which home sales dropped.

"Spiking gasoline prices along with widespread severe weather hurt those shopping in April, leading to soft figures in May," said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun in a press release.

This explains, at least in part, why home sales were softer in the Midwest, where severe weather kept homebuyers at bay. But the most prevalent problem remains excessively strict credit regulations, Yun said.