Total existing home sales, including single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops, rose by 2% on a seasonally adjusted annual rate from June to July. This marks two consecutive months of increases, according to the National Association of Realtors. Year over year, sales have risen 1.5% since July 2020, up from a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.9 million.
The inventory of unsold homes rose by 7.3% from June to July, up to 1.32 million, down 12% from one year ago. This number is equivalent to 2.6 months of the monthly sales pace.
“We see inventory beginning to tick up, which will lessen the intensity of multiple offers,” says NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun. “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 sales price rose by 17.8% year over year, up to $359,900 in July. This marks 113 straight months of year-over-year gains. First-time buyers accounted for 30% of sales, while individual investors or second-home buyers accounted for 15% of purchases.
Single-family home sales alone rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.28 million in July, up 2.7% from June and down 0.8% from July 2020. The median existing single-family home price was $367,000, up 18.6% from July 2020.
“Although we shouldn’t expect to see home prices drop in the coming months, there is a chance that they will level off as inventory continues to gradually improve,” Yun says. “In the meantime, some prospective buyers who are priced out are raising the demand for rental homes and thereby pushing up the rental rates.”
Three out of the four major U.S. regions showed modest home sales growth from June to July—3.3% in the West, 1.2% in the South, and 3.8% in the Midwest. The Northeast’s sales growth remained level over the same period. The Northeast and South saw sales gains YOY, while sales in the West remained level and sales in the Midwest declined.
