The National
Association of Realtors (NAR) informed on Thursday that the U.S. existing home
sales increased 1.3 per cent m-o-m to a seasonally adjusted rate of 3.95 million
in July from an upwardly revised 3.90 million (from 3.89 million) in June. This
marked the first monthly gain
in existing home sales in five months.
Economists had forecast
home re-sales increasing to a 3.93 million-unit pace last month.
In y-o-y terms,
existing-home sales fell 2.5 per cent in July.
According to
the report, three out of four major
regions - the Northeast (+4.3 per cent m-o-m), the West (+1.4 per cent
m-o-m), and the South (+1.1 per cent m-o-m) - registered gains on a m-o-m basis, while the Midwest remained unchanged.
In y-o-y terms,
existing-home sales increased in the Northeast (+2.1 per cent) and West (+1.4 per cent m-o-m) but dropped in the Midwest (-5.2 per cent) and South
(-3.8 per cent).
Over the
reviewed period, the median existing-home price for all housing types climbed 4.2
per cent y-o-y to $422,600. This marked the 13th straight month
of year-over-year gains in median existing-home price.
Single-family
home sales came in at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 3.57 million in July,
up 1.4 per cent m-o-m but down 1.4 per cent y-o-y. Meanwhile, existing condominium and co-op sales were registered
at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 380,000 units in July, flat m-o-m and down 11.6 per cent y-o-y.
Commenting on
the latest data, Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, noted that despite the modest
gain in July home sales remained sluggish. “But consumers are definitely
seeing more choices, and affordability is improving due to lower interest rates,”
he stressed.