US July Housing Transactions Rebound... Impact of Mortgage Rate Decline and Increased Listings

After a decline, the volume of U.S. home sales rebounded last month.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) announced on the 22nd (local time) that existing home sales in the U.S. for July reached 3.95 million units (seasonally adjusted annual rate), marking a 1.3% increase compared to the previous month. However, this figure represents a 2.5% decrease compared to one year ago.

Existing home sales had been declining since March due to a shortage of homes for sale and persistently high interest rates. However, as inventory continued to build up and mortgage rates recently fell, buyers have started to increase their home purchases. According to NAR, as of the end of July, the inventory of existing homes in the U.S. was 1.33 million units, up 0.8% from the previous month and 19.8% compared to July of last year. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate stood at 6.82% at the end of July, dropping below the psychological threshold of 7% for homebuyers.

Nonetheless, the shortage of homes for sale remains insufficiently resolved, so home price increases continued. The median price of existing homes in the U.S. in July was $422,600, up 4.2% year-over-year, marking the 13th consecutive month of price increases. Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said, "Although sales have increased moderately, the housing market remains sluggish. However, consumers are definitely seeing more options, and the decline in interest rates has eased financial burdens."