Inadequate inventory was behind a disappointing monthly decline in existing home sales. Sales in the Northeast took the biggest hit.
During just the month of July 2016, U.S. residential home buyers purchased 514,000 houses
that have been previously owned.
Existing home sales tumbled from a downwardly revised 582,000 one month previous and 551,000 units sold one year previous.
Historical data from the National Association of Realtors, which released the latest numbers Wednesday, indicate that there have been
3.128 million existing homes sold between Jan. 1, 2016, and July 30.
Factoring in seasonal adjustments, the annual rate of existing home sales was 5.390 million last month, falling from 5.570 million in June and a downwardly revised 5.480 million in July 2015.
“Severely restrained inventory and the tightening grip it’s putting on affordability is the primary culprit for the considerable sales slump throughout much of the country last month,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun explained in an accompanying announcement. “Realtors are reporting diminished buyer traffic because of the scarce number of affordable homes on the market, and the lack of supply is stifling the efforts of many prospective buyers attempting to purchase while mortgage rates hover at historical lows.”
The seasonally adjusted annual
rate was 0.660 million in the Northeast during July 2016, tumbling 13 percent from a month earlier — the biggest decline of any region.
A 5 percent reduction from June left the rate in the Midwest at 1.280 million, while the South retreated 2 percent to a rate of 2.220 million.
The West was the only region to see a month-over-month gain: 3 percent to a 1.230 million annual rate.
On just single-family sales, the seasonally adjusted U.S. annual rate was 4.82 million, off from 4.92 million in June. The rate on condominiums and co-operatives was 0.570 million, falling from the prior month’s 0.650 million.
As of July 31, 2016, there were 2.130 million existing U.S. homes for sale. The inventory inched up a percent from the previous month but fell 6 percent from a year previous.
At the current pace of home sales, it would take 4.7 months to clear out the current inventory of existing homes for sale, longer than 4.5 months in June but shorter than 4.9 months in July 2015.
The median price of U.S. homes sold in July 2016 was $244,100, and the average price was $285,900.
The report indicated that first-time home buyer share was 32 percent last month, while all-cash share was 21 percent and distressed sale
share was 5 percent — the lowest since at least October 2008.
Time on the market was 36 days, two days longer than in June but six days shorter than in July 2015.
