Marking two consecutive months of significant sales gains, existing-home sales continued on an upward trajectory in July, according to the National Association of Realtors.
July’s total existing-home sales, completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condos, and co-ops, increased 24.7% from June to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.86 million. The previous record monthly increase in existing sales was 20.7% in June. Year over year, sales increased 8.7%.
“The housing market is well past the recovery phase and is now booming with higher home sales compared with the pre-pandemic days,” says Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “With the sizable shift in remote work, current homeowners are looking for larger homes, and this will lead to a secondary level of demand even into 2021.”
According to the NAR, the national median home prices breached the $300,000 mark for the first time ever. The median existing-home price for all housing types is $304,100, an 8.5% increase from July 2019’s $280,400, with prices increasing in every region. This national price increase marks 101 straight months of year-over-year gains.
Total housing inventory at the end of July was at 1.5 million units, down from 2.6% in June and 21.1% from a year ago. Unsold inventory is at a 3.1-month supply at the current sales pace, down from 3.9 months in June and 4.2 months recorded in July 2019.
According to Yun, the inventory figures have a substantial effect on sales.
“The number of new listings is increasing, but they are quickly taken out of the market from heavy buyer competition,” he says. “More homes need to be built.”
In July, properties typically remained on the market for 22 days, seasonally down from 24 days in June and 29 days a year ago. In addition, 68% of homes sold in July were on the market for less than a month.
First-time home buyers made up 34% of sales in July, down from 35% in June and up from 32% from a year ago. Individual investors or second-home buyers purchased 15% of homes in July, up from 9% in June and 11% a year ago.
Single-family home sales were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.28 million in July, a 23.9% increase from 4.26 million in June as well as a 9.8% bump from July 2019. Existing condo and co-op sales also saw an increase, with the seasonally adjusted annual rate of 580,000 units, up 31.8% from June and equal to a year ago. In July, the median existing single-family home price was $307,800, a year-over-year increase of 8.5%, and the median existing condo price was $270,100, a 6.4% year-over-year increase.
Each of the four major regions saw double-digit month-over-month increases for existing-home sales in July. Existing-home sales from June jumped 30.6% in the Northeast, 27.5% in the Midwest, 19.4% in the South, and 30.5% in the West. The Northeast was the only region to show a year-over-year drop.
“Home buyers’ eagerness to secure housing has helped rejuvenate our nation’s economy despite incredibly difficult circumstances,” says NAR president Vince Malta, broker at Malta & Co. in San Francisco. “Admittedly, we have a way to go toward full recovery, but I have faith in our communities, the real estate industry, and NAR’s 1.4 million members, and I know collectively we will continue to mount an impressive recovery.”
