U.S. Existing Home Sales Rebound After Falling For Four Straight Months

Reflecting a modest improvement in supply, the National Association of Realtors released a report on Thursday showing existing home sales rebounded in the month of June following four straight monthly declines.

NAR said existing home sales jumped by 1.4 percent to an annual rate of 5.86 million in June after slumping by 1.2 percent to a revised rate of 5.78 million in May.

Economists had expected existing home sales to surge up by 1.7 percent to a rate of 5.90 million from the 5.80 million originally reported for the previous month.

With the monthly increase, existing home sales rebounded after falling to their lowest level in eleven months in May.

“Supply has modestly improved in recent months due to more housing starts and existing homeowners listing their homes, all of which has resulted in an uptick in sales,” said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun. “Home sales continue to run at a pace above the rate seen before the pandemic.”

The annual rate of existing home sales in June was up by 22.9 percent from a rate of 4.77 million in the same month a year ago.

The rebound in June came as existing home sales in the Northeast and Midwest spiked by 2.8 percent and 3.1 percent, respectively.

Existing home sales in the west also jumped by 1.7 percent during the month, while existing home sales in the South were unchanged.

The report also said total housing inventory at the end of June amounted to 1.25 million units, up 3.3 percent from 1.21 million unites at the end of May but down 18.8 percent from 1.54 million units a year ago.

The unsolved inventory represents 2.6 months of supply at the current sales pace compared to 2.5 months of supply in May and 3.9 months of supply in June of 2020.

NAR also said the median existing home price for all housing types was $363,300 in June, up 3.7 percent from $350,400 in May and up 23.4 percent $294,400 a year ago.

“At a broad level, home prices are in no danger of a decline due to tight inventory conditions, but I do expect prices to appreciate at a slower pace by the end of the year,” Yun said.

He added, “Ideally, the costs for a home would rise roughly in line with income growth, which is likely to happen in 2022 as more listings and new construction become available.”

The report also said single-family home sales jumped 1.4 percent to a rate of 5.14 million in June, while existing condominium and co-op sales also surged by 1.4 percent to a rate of 720,000.

Next Monday, the Commerce Department is scheduled to release its report on new home sales in the month of June.

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