Existing home sales rose in July; median price hits new high
Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes rose in July for the second month in a row, though they only increased modestly from a year ago, suggesting the red-hot housing market may be cooling off a little
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes rose in July for the second month in a row, though they only increased modestly from a year ago, suggesting the red-hot housing market may be cooling off a little.
Existing homes sales rose 2% last month from June to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 5.99 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Monday. That’s higher than the 5.82 million annual rate economists were expecting, according to FactSet.
Sales rose only 1.5% from July last year. By comparison, sales in June jumped about 23% from a year earlier, when many states were still locked down due to the pandemic.
The median U.S. home price climbed 17.8% from a year ago to $359,900, an all-time high, as sales of higher-end homes helped skew prices higher.
At the end of July, the inventory of unsold homes stood at 1.32 million homes for sale, up 7.3% from the prior month, but down 12% from July last year. At the current sales pace, that amounts to a 2.6-month supply, the NAR said.