JUNE EXISTING HOME SALES DOWN 2.6% to 4.86mln ANNUAL RATE (Updated)
Existing Home Sales fell 2.6% to a 4.86mln annual rate in June — a 10yr low, and below May’s unrevised 4.99mln pace.
Inventories of unsold homes on the market rose 0.2% to 4.49mln homes, an 11.1 month-supply. The national median home sales price was $215,100, up slightly from May and the highest this year, but still down 6% lower on a y-o-y basis.
Single-family home sales dropped 3.2% in June and were 14% lower than Jun-07. Condo sales rose 1.7%.
Sales fell in the Northeast (-6.6%), South (-3.1%), and Midwest (-3.4%), but edged up 1% in the West in the face of a whopping 17% decline in prices. Prices fell 12.6% in the Northeast, 2% in the South, and rose 2.8% in the Midwest.
One-third of June sales were foreclosed homes and short sales, according to NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun.
Yet he tried to sound an optimistic note, saying price declines are luring some buyers into the market and the US may be “very near ending the housing downturn and starting the recovery.”
But he also noted that some healthy markets such as the Pacific Northwest and Texas — where affordability and labor demand are strong — saw a drop-off in sales last month. “It’s a little puzzling,” he said.
Yun also said he was very pleased with the progress of the housing bill, saying it would help stabilize the market.