Existing-home sales ride high again
Existing-home sales demonstrated continued momentum in July as transactions significantly surged for the second month in a row.
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that total existing-home sales soared 24.7% in July to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.86 million.
Last month, sales jumped 20.7%. Year-over-year, sales are up 8.7% from a year ago and the rate of 5.39 million in July 2019.
Total existing-home sales include completed transactions of single-family homes, townhomes, condos and co-ops.
Single-family home sales increased 23.9% to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 5.28 million in July as compared to a rate of 4.26 million in June. Sales of existing single-family homes are also up 9% from a year ago.
Existing condo and co-op sales were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 580,000 units in July, up 31.8%.
“The housing market is well past the recovery phase and is now booming with higher home sales compared to the pre-pandemic days,” said 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.”
Here’s how existing-home sales break down by region:
- In the Northeast, existing-home sales spiked 30.6% to an annual rate of 640,000. This is 5.9% below a year ago, however. The median price in the Northeast increased 4% from July 2019 to $317,800.
- In the Midwest, existing-home sales jumped 27.5% to an annual rate of 1.39 million and have increased 10.3% from a year ago. The median price in the Midwest is $244,500, rising 8% from last year.
- In the South, existing-home sales shot up 19.4% to an annual rate of 2.59 million in July, up 12.6% from the same time one year ago. The median price in the South was $268,500, a 9.9% increase from a year ago.
- Existing-home sales in the West ascended 30.5% to an annual rate of 1,240,000 in July, a 7.8% increase from a year ago. The median price in the West was $453,800, up 11.3% from July 2019.
The median existing-home price for all housing types in July was $304,100, up 8.5% from July 2019 ($280,400). July’s national price increase marks 101 straight months of year-over-year gains.
The median existing single-family home price was $307,800 in July, up 8.5% from July 2019.
Total housing inventory at the end of July totaled 1.5 million units, down from both 2.6% in June and 21.1% from one year ago (1.9 million). Unsold inventory sits at a 3.1-month supply at the current sales pace, down from 3.9 months in June and down from the 4.2-month figure recorded in July 2019.
Yun notes that the inventory totals have a substantial impact on sales.
“The number of new listings is increasing, but they are quickly taken out of the market from heavy buyer competition,” he said. “More homes need to be built.”
First-time buyers were responsible for 34% of sales in July, down from 35% in June 2020 and up from 32% in July 2019.