Existing home sales rose 1.3 percent. Tack on a small positive revision, and sales rose 1.5 percent from the previous report. Year-over-year sales are still negative.
Sales are down 37.7 percent from the January 2022 high and 2.6 percent above the October 2023 low (yellow highlights).
Skid Ends (For Now)
The NAR reports Existing-Home Sales Advanced 1.3% in July, Ending Four-Month Skid.
Five Key Highlights
- Existing-home sales grew 1.3% in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.95 million, stopping a four-month sales decline that began in March. However, sales slipped 2.5% from one year ago.
- The median existing-home sales price elevated 4.2% from July 2023 to $422,600, the 13th consecutive month of year-over-year price gains. All four U.S. regions posted price increases.
- Total housing inventory registered at the end of July was 1.33 million units, up 0.8% from June and 19.8% from one year ago (1.11 million). Unsold inventory sits at a 4.0-month supply at the current sales pace, down from 4.1 months in June but up from 3.3 months in July 2023.
- First-time buyers were responsible for 29% of sales in July, identical to June but down from 30% in July 2023.
- All-cash sales accounted for 27% of transactions in July, down from 28% in June but up from 26% one year ago. Individual investors or second-home buyers, who make up many cash sales, purchased 13% of homes in July, down from 16% in both June 2024 and July 2023.
Existing-Home Sales Percent Change from Month Ago
Existing-Home Sales Supply
Supply is slowly stair stepping higher.
Last month, supply was the highest in over four years.
Existing-Home Sales Percent Change from Year Ago
Sales were falling so fast that year-over-year numbers were increasingly easy to beat. But things reversed lower after getting to -1.7 percent year-over-year.
From a year ago sales are down 2.5 percent. Sales are down 37.7 percent from the January 2022 high.
Existing-Home Sales 1968-Present
I repeated last months chart. The July 2024 sales are 3.95K.
Existing-home sales are below the level of December 1995 and also May 1979.
Adjusted for population, these are abysmal numbers.