The typical increase in home sales as summer approaches failed to materialize nationwide last month, with average sales dropping 0.2% from April to May, but month-over-month sales in Boston dipped even further, declining 0.8%, according to the RE/MAX May National Housing Report.

Inventory levels rebounded last month, finally showing signs of recovery following a year of historical declines.

Although pending sales are up 29% from last year, they are starting to slow down, dropping 9.7% from their peak four weeks ago.

Single-family housing starts were up 4.2% from April and 49.8% from May 2020, at 1,098,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Massachusetts is the second-best state to live in the U.S., according to WalletHub’s 2021 Best States to Live In list. 

Home sales rose steadily again in May, as median selling prices also rose to record highs.

Increasing costs and declining availability of key building materials dampened builder sentiment, as higher costs have pushed some new homes beyond the budget of prospective buyers. 

The rise in equity could help stave off foreclosures because homeowners can tap into that equity and sell their home, unlike during the 2008 financial crisis when many homeowners found themselves underwater in their mortgage, according to CoreLogic.

Experts at Builder Magazine recently came out with their Local Leaders list for 2020, which ranks the country’s 50 largest new-home markets based on closings by the end of the year.

Some cities fared better than others with the global pandemic and Boston is one of them, according to The Economist’s 2021 Livability Index’s ranking of the most livable cities in the world.