Sales of existing houses declined 1% in May.

The National Assn. of Realtors said its monthly survey showed that existing single-family homes were sold at an annual rate of 3.01 million units in May. While this was slightly below the April pace of 3.04 million units, it marked the third straight month that sales of existing homes have been above the 3-million-unit level. The survey found that the median price of a single-family home increased $400 to $74,900 in May, putting the price 3% above the level of a year ago.