NAR Reports July Existing Home Sales Down 1.7%

Existing home sales in the United States experienced a 1.7% decrease in July, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.06 million homes. This figure represents a decline from the 4.13 million homes sold in June. However, when compared to the same period in the previous year, July's sales were up by 0.7%. The median sales price for existing homes in July was $434,100, marking a 2.0% increase from July of the prior year. This marks the 37th consecutive month of year-over-year price appreciation in the housing market. Despite the slower sales pace, the inventory of unsold homes available on the market decreased in July. At the end of the month, there were 1.54 million units on the market, a 1.9% reduction compared to a year ago. This inventory level equates to a 4.6 months' supply at the current sales pace. Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist, stated that home sales have remained remarkably stable despite the recent increases in mortgage rates. He noted that year-to-date sales are up by 2.4% and expressed confidence that the housing market would be performing even better if average mortgage rates were to decline to around 6%. Regionally, existing home sales saw a month-over-month increase in the Northeast by 2.0%, while the Midwest experienced a 2.0% decrease and the South saw a 3.1% decline. The West region remained unchanged month-over-month. On an annual basis, sales increased by 2.1% in the Midwest, reaching 970,000 units, and by 1.4% in the West, totaling 730,000 units. The South and Northeast regions reported no annual change in sales, with 1.86 million and 500,000 units sold, respectively. In addition to sales data, the National Association of Realtors' (NAR) Housing Affordability Index registered a reading of 103.3 in July, an improvement from 98.3 recorded a year earlier. Affordability saw gains across all four regions compared to the previous year, with the most significant improvement in the West (+7.3%) and the smallest in the Northeast (+1.5%). The Realtors' Confidence Index indicated that the median number of days homes spent on the market increased by one day from both the previous month and the previous year, reaching a total of 29 days. First-time homebuyers constituted 29% of all sales in July, a slight increase from 28% a year ago, but a decrease from 33% in June.