Summer Season Starts with Rising Home Sales, Inventory

Home sales in June rose 4.5 percent over the month prior, climbing closer to 2013 numbers than any other month so far this year.

In its monthly National Housing Report, RE/MAX observed another month-to-month climb in transaction levels, marking the fourth straight month of increases following a poor showing at the start of the year. All 52 surveyed metros reported monthly gains.

While sales figures remain down nearly 2 percent compared to June 2013, the company says the year-over-year difference is the smallest one recorded year-to-date.

"The trend may have started late, but 2014 appears to be following a traditional seasonal sales pattern," RE/MAX said.

Inventory also ticked up slightly for the third straight month, nudging up 0.3 percent from May. Compared to the same time last year, supply was down 4.2 percent, slightly worse than May's decline of 4.1 percent.

The low level of inventory and high level of demand brought the number of days the average home was listed on the market to 62, four days less than in May and three days less than a year ago. It was the 25th consecutive month in which the average market time came in below 90 days.

Still, with sales going on at their current pace, the stock of inventory improved when measured in months, climbing to 4.1 months supply from 3.8 in May and 3.9 last year. RE/MAX considers a six-month supply to be a balanced market between buyers and sellers.

"The increasing inventory of homes for sale is having a positive impact, despite some lingering challenges with lending standards, so the recovery remains in place," said RE/MAX CEO Margaret Kelly. "If the overall economy improves, history has shown that housing is likely to stay in line with long-standing seasonal trends."

Meanwhile, home prices continued to slide up, gaining 9.6 percent over the last 12 months to a median $210,000. Of the 52 areas surveyed, RE/MAX reported higher sales prices in 41, with eight seeing double-digit increases.