Sales of both existing and new homes rose in July from June, but showed mixed results from a year earlier, according to the latest reports.
The National Association of Realtors said this week that total existing-home sales — completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops — grew 2% from June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.99 million in July. Sales increased 1.5% year-over-year from 5.9 million in July 2020.
July’s results marked two consecutive months of increases, the NAR said. It also noted that three of the four major U.S. regions recorded modest month-over-month gains, while the fourth remained level. Year-over-year, two regions saw gains, one saw a decline, and one was unchanged.
"We see inventory beginning to tick up, which will lessen the intensity of multiple offers," said Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist. "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."
The median existing-home price for all housing types in July was $359,900, up 17.8% from July 2020 ($305,600), as each region saw prices climb. It was the 113th consecutive month of year-over-year gains.
You can read the full report at www.nar.realtor.
Sales of new homes, meanwhile, posted their first increase since March.
The report released jointly by the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development estimated that a seasonally adjusted 708,000 new homes sold in July, up 1% from a revised 701,000 sold in June.
Year-over-year sales, however, fell 27.2% from the 972,000 sold in July 2020, the report said.
Sales rose from June in the South and West, but fell in the Northeast and Midwest, the report said. Sales in all four regions fell from a year earlier.
The median price of a new homes sold in July was $390,500, up 18.4% from $329,800 a year earlier.
You can read the full report at www.census.gov.
