The National Association of Realtors (NAR) will look to see if existing-home sales [1] rebounded from a 1.7% drop in June, as the NAR will release its latest existing-home sales report on Wednesday, August 21.
Homes sales fell to 5.27 million last month, and half of the major U.S. regions recorded minor sales jumps while the other half experienced greater declines.
“Home sales are running at a pace similar to 2015 levels – even with exceptionally low mortgage rates, a record number of jobs and a record high net worth in the country,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist.
According to Yun, the nation is in the midst of a housing shortage and much more inventory is needed. “Imbalance persists for mid-to-lower priced homes with solid demand and insufficient supply, which is consequently pushing up home prices,” he said.
Yun also states that other factors may be contributing to low sales.
“Either a strong pent-up demand will show in the upcoming months, or there is a lack of confidence that is keeping buyers from this major expenditure,” said Yun. “It’s too soon to know how much of a pullback is related to the reduction in the homeowner tax incentive.”
Housing inventory ticked up slightly month-over-month in June, but is unchanged from the level of one year ago.
By region, existing-home sales rose slightly in the Northeast and Midwest but decreased in the South and West, but sales were still lower than a year ago across all regions. Median home prices rose in all regions, with the highest gains in the Midwest and South.
While existing home sales fell, the Census Bureau [2] reports that sales of new single‐family houses increased by 7% in June month-over-month, and increased by 4.5% year-over-year.
Here's what else is happening in The Week Ahead:
Federal Open Market Committee minutes (Aug. 21)
CoreLogic Wildfire Webinar (Aug. 22)
Census Bureau New Residential Sales Survey (Aug. 23)