Home Sales Are Down & Prices Are Up

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In June, U.S. existing-home sales declined for the fourth consecutive month, while median home prices reached a new record high, as reported by the National Association of Realtors’ This Week in Real Estate. Although home prices have achieved record levels for two consecutive months, the rate of increase has moderated. The U.S. economy demonstrated robust growth in the second quarter, driven by increased consumer spending, heightened business investment in equipment and inventories, and a reduction in inflation. To meet the Federal Reserve’s 2% annual inflation target, monthly inflation rates need to average approximately 0.17%, with June’s rate at 0.182%. This rate falls within the historical range of target inflation levels seen before the pandemic. Additionally, the Commerce Department reported an unexpected decline in U.S. new home sales last month, reaching a seven-month low. Below are a few newsworthy events from the fourth week of July that influence our business:  
EXISTING-HOME SALES SLIPPED IN JUNE; MEDIAN SALES PRICE JUMPS TO RECORD HIGH. Existing-home sales fell in June as the median sales price climbed to the highest price ever recorded for second consecutive month, according to the National Association of REALTORS. Total existing-home sales receded 5.4% from May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.89 million in June. Year-over-year, sales also dropped 5.4% (down from 4.11 million in June 2023). The median existing-home price for all housing types in June was $426,900, an all-time high and an increase of 4.1% from one year ago ($410,100). Single-family home sales retracted to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.52 million in June, down 5.1% from 3.71 million in May and 4.3% from the prior year. The median existing single-family home price was $432,700 in June, up 4.1% from June 2023. Read the full story here.
Q2 GDP GROWTH SUPPORTS RATE CUTS THIS YEAR.Real GDP surprised to the upside in Q2 2024, expanding by a better-than-expected 2.8 percent quarter-over-quarter.  The Fed likely will view the data as evidence that the US economy is not collapsing amid elevated interest rates. The data should give the Fed some additional confidence that it can consider one or more interest rate cuts this year, but not more than that. The report did show that Inflation continued to cool in the Q2. Read the full story here.
NEW HOME SALES FALL TO A SEVEN-MONTH LOW IN JUNE. New home sales fell to the lowest level since November 2023. Sales of newly built, single-family homes in June fell 0.6% to a 617,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate from a slight upwardly revised reading in May, according to newly released data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. The pace of new home sales in June is down 7.4% from a year earlier. However, moderating inflation suggests lower interest rates in the months ahead and that should bring more buyers off the sidelines. Read the full story here.


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