The National Association of Realtors (NAR) announced on Friday that the U.S. existing home sales surged 2.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.34 million in May from a revised 5.21 million in April (originally 5.19 million).

Economists had forecast home resales increasing to a 5.25 million-unit pace last month.

According to the report, single-family home sales stood at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.75 million in May, up from 4.63 million in April and down 0.8 percent from 4.79 million a year ago. Meanwhile, existing condominium and co-op sales were recorded at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 590,000 units in May, up 1.7 percent from the prior month and down 3.3% from a year ago.

In y-o-y terms, existing-home sales dropped 1.1 percent in May.

The NAR’s chief economist Lawrence Yun said that May’s jump shows that consumers are eager to take advantage of the favorable conditions. “The purchasing power to buy a home has been bolstered by falling mortgage rates, and buyers are responding.”