Existing home sales surged 24.7% higher in July to an annual rate of 5.86 million, well above expectations for an annual rate of 5.40 million. The sizable gain in July follows a huge gain of 20.2% in June; existing home sales are now up 8.7% over last year and hitting their highest level since late 2006.
Sales rose in all regions of the U.S. in July, anywhere from 19.4% to 30.6%. The inventory of homes available for sale fell 2.6% on a monthly basis and remain down 21.1% on a yearly basis to 1.500 million homes, which represents a 3.1 month-supply at the current sales pace. Exceptionally tight supply boosted house price appreciation rates. The median existing home price for all housing types was $304,100, up 8.5% from July 2019. Home prices rose in every region.
“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.”
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**Used for informational purposes only, with permission via Economic Focus**
