If you exclude November 2009, when home sales spiked amid a frenzy to claim a tax credit for first-time home buyers, home sales are running at their highest rate in six years, writes the Wall Street Journal.

The National Association of Realtors reported on Thursday that sales in May rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.18 million homes. They reached a level of 5.44 million in November 2009, and 5.27 million in May 2007, when the housing market collapse accelerated. They hit a low of 3.45 million in July 2010, after the last round of home-buyer tax credits expired.