Existing-Home Sales Down in July

Aug 24, 2017

The median listing price for homes hit the $299,000 mark this month

Total existing-home dropped by 1.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.44 million in July from a downwardly revised 5.51 million in June, according to new data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Although last month’s sales were 2.1 percent above a year ago, but is nonetheless the lowest level set for 2017.

The median existing-home price for all housing types in July was $258,300, up 6.2 percent from the $243,2000 level in July 2016. July marked the 65th straight month of year-over-year gains.

Total housing inventory at the end of July dipped by one 1.0 percent to 1.92 million existing homes available for sale, and is nine percent lower than a year ago (2.11 million). The inventory level has decreased year-over-year for 26 consecutive months. First-time buyers were 33 percent of sales in July, which is up from 32 percent both in June and a year ago.

“Buyer interest in most of the country has held up strongly this summer and homes are selling fast, but the negative effect of not enough inventory to choose from and its pressure on overall affordability put the brakes on what should’ve been a higher sales pace,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Contract activity has mostly trended downward since February and ultimately put a large dent on closings last month.”

https://www.nar.realtor/topics/existing-home-sales

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Phil Hall

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Aug 24, 2017

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