Nation’s Home Sales Rose in July

WASHINGTON, D.C. – (By Dale King Realty News Report) – Sales of existing homes made a ‘modest’ upward move in July, halting a streak of four consecutive monthly declines, but possibly presaging future improvements in market conditions, says an assessment released this week by the National Association of Realtors.

Total existing-home sales – defined by NAR as completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – increased 1.3 to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.95 million in July, says the NAR analysis. However, year-over-year residential sales still dropped by 2.5 percent — down from 4.05 million in July 2023.

“Despite the modest gain, home sales are still sluggish,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “But consumers are definitely seeing more choices, and affordability is improving due to lower interest rates.”

Regional Breakdown

Home sale performance varied across the nation, said NAR. “Existing-home sales in the Northeast in July climbed 4.3 percent since June to an annual rate of 490,000, an increase of 2.1 percent over July 2023. The median price was $505,100, up 8.3 percent from last year.”

The Midwest reported an existing-home sales rate in July of 920,000, down 5.2 percent from the previous year. The median price in this region was $321,300, up 4.5 percent from July 2023.

Existing-home sales in the South increased 1.1 percent from June to an annual rate of 1.79 million in July, down 3.8 percent from one year before. The median price of a dwelling in the South was $372,500, up 2.3 percent from a year earlier.

In the West, existing-home sales rose 1.4 percent in July to an annual rate of 750,000, also up 1.4 percent from the previous year. The median price for a domicile in the West was $629,500, up 3.4 percent from July 2023.

Year over year, sales rose in the Northeast and West, but withdrew in the Midwest and South.

The median existing-home price for all housing types (where half sold for more and half sold for less) in July 2024 was $422,600, said NAR, up 4.2 percent from a year ago ($405,600). All four U.S. regions posted dwelling price gains this year.

Single-family and Condo/Co-op Results

Single-family home sales grew 1.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.57 million in July, down 1.4 percent from the previous year. The median existing single-family home price was $428,500 in July, up 4.2 percent from July 2023.

This was also the 13^th consecutive month of year-over-year price gains, NAR noted.

Existing condominium and co-op sales in July were identical to June at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 380,000 units, down 11.6 percent from one year ago (430,000 units). The median existing condo price was $367,500 in July, up 2.7 percent from the prior year ($357,900).

“The median home price of condominiums is cheaper, yet the condominium market is underperforming compared to the single-family market,” Yun pointed out. “Rising maintenance and insurance costs have lessened the appeal for condominiums.”

Other Report Features

Highlights from NAR’s Realtors’ Confidence Index segment include the following:

Properties remained on the market for 24 days in July, up from 22 days in June and 20 days in July 2023.
First-time buyers were responsible for 29 percent of sales in July, identical to June but down from 30 percent in July 2023. NAR’s 2023 ‘Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers’– released in November 2023– found that the annual share of first-time buyers was 32 percent.
All-cash sales wiggled just a bit. They accounted for 27 percent of transactions in July, down from 28 percent in June but up from 26 percent one year ago.
Individual investors or second-home buyers, who make up many of the cash sales, purchased 13 percent of homes in July, down from 16 percent in both June 2024 and July 2023.
The NAR report offered another positive note. Distressed sales – foreclosures and short sales – represented just 1 percent of sales in July, virtually unchanged from last month and the prior year.

On the mortgage front, Freddie Mac reports a 30-year fixed-rate home loan averaged 6.49 percent as of Aug. 15. That’s up from 6.47 percent one week earlier but down from 7.09 percent one year ago.

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