Existing-home sales increased 2.0% in July compared with June to reach a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.99 million, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
Year over year, existing home sales were up 1.5%.
Regionally, and year over year, existing-home sales were up 12.1% in the Northeast and 1.2% in the South. They were flat in the West and decreased 1.4% in the South.
“We see inventory beginning to tick up, which will lessen the intensity of multiple offers,” says Lawrence Yun, chief economist for NAR, in a statement. “Much of the home sales growth is still occurring in the upper-end markets, while the mid- to lower-tier areas aren’t seeing as much growth because there are still too few starter homes available.”
Total housing inventory at the end of July totaled 1.32 million units, up 7.3% compared with June. That’s about a 2.6-month supply at the present sales pace.
The median existing-home price for all housing types in July was $359,900, up 17.8% from July 2020.
“Although we shouldn’t expect to see home prices drop in the coming months, there is a chance that they will level off as inventory continues to gradually improve,” Yun says. “In the meantime, some prospective buyers who are priced out are raising the demand for rental homes and thereby pushing up the rental rates.”
Properties typically remained on the market for 17 days in July, unchanged from June and down from 22 days in July 2020.
Eighty-nine percent of homes sold in July were on the market for less than a month.
Photo: Valentina Locatelli
