Existing home sales rose in July, inventories rose | News, Sports, Jobs

Sales of previously occupied homes in the United States increased for the second consecutive month in July, albeit modestly from a year ago, suggesting that the scorching housing market may cool down a bit.

Existing home sales rose 2% last month from June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.99 million units, the National Association of Realtors said on Monday. That’s more than the 5.82 million economists expected, according to FactSet.

Sales were only up 1.5% from July last year. By comparison, sales in June jumped about 23% from the previous year, when many states were still in pandemic containment.

“Sales are still exceeding pre-pandemic conditions, but appear to be stabilizing”, NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said.

The median US home price rose 17.8% from a year ago to $ 359,900, near the all-time high it reached in June, NAR said. This annual gain was more modest than the 20-25% year-over-year increases seen earlier this year.

“Obviously, the growth in house prices is moderating”, Yun said.

Sales of homes above $ 500,000 rose last month, while those below that level plummeted, helping to skew the median price up.

Prospective buyers who had been trying to navigate the most competitive market for over a decade may have had a wider choice to consider at the end of July, when the inventory of unsold homes stood at 1.32. million. That’s a 7.3% increase from June, but it’s still a 12% drop from July of last year. At the current pace of sales, the unsold inventory stands at a 2.6 month supply, the NAR said.

With so few homes for sale, it has become common for anyone putting a home on the market to receive multiple offers that exceed the asking price, and many sell within days. In July, homes typically stayed on the market for 17 days before being bought. This is unchanged from June, but down from 22 days in July 2020.

“I think we will have more stocks in the coming months” Yun said.

First-time homebuyers accounted for 30% of all transactions last month, up from 31% in June and 34% a year ago. These buyers face fewer homes for sale in the more affordable segment of the market and competition from cash buyers, often investors. Some 23% of homes sold in July were paid for in cash, unchanged from June and up from 16% in July last year.

However, first-time buyers continue to benefit from ultra-low mortgage rates. The average interest rate on a 30-year mortgage fell last week to 2.86%, according to Freddie Mac. The benchmark rate, which peaked this year at 3.18% in April, stood at 2.99% a year ago.