Previously owned home sales rose in July for the first time in five months, up 1.3% from June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.95 million units, the National Association of Realtors reported. The modest recovery is the first seen in recent months.
Compared to the same month last year, sales decreased by 2.5%.
Regional differences were notable, with the Northeast seeing the largest increases in both home sales and prices, while the Midwest saw no change in sales volume.
Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, noted, “While we are seeing a slight improvement, the pace of home sales remains tepid. However, the market is becoming more accessible to buyers, thanks to an increase in housing options and the recent decline in interest rates.”
These sales figures generally reflect transactions in May and June, a time when rates on the widely used 30-year fixed-rate mortgage were above 7%. Rates have since fallen, currently averaging around 6.5%.
Cash purchases accounted for 27% of home sales in July, a slight increase from a year earlier and significantly higher than historical averages.
Inventory levels also increased in July. By the end of the month, there were 1.33 million homes available, up 0.8% from June and a substantial 19.8% increase from the previous July. This stockpile represents about four months of supply at the current sales rate, a slight decline from June.
Despite the growing inventory, home prices haven’t cooled. The median sales price for existing homes in July rose to $442,600, up 4.2% from a year earlier.
First-time buyers accounted for 29% of July home sales, in line with June but down slightly from 30% a year earlier. First-time buyers typically account for about 40% of home sales, but affordability challenges persisted amid rising home prices and higher mortgage rates.
With mortgage rates slightly lower recently, there has been a noticeable increase in market demand. According to a Redfin report, there was a 4% week-over-week increase in requests for tours and services from real estate agents, the highest in two months.
