Existing-home sales in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate 5.39 million, a 3.2 percent decrease from June’s rate of 5.57 and a 1.6 percent decrease from July 2015’s rate of 5.48 million, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Existing-home sales in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate 5.39 million, a 3.2 percent decrease from June’s rate of 5.57 and a 1.6 percent decrease from July 2015’s rate of 5.48 million, according to the National Association of Realtors.
July’s decline comes after four months of climbing existing-home sales, said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, in a statement.
“Severely restrained inventory and the tightening grip it’s putting on affordability is the primary culprit for the considerable sales slump throughout much of the country last month,” he said. “Realtors are reporting diminished buyer traffic because of the scarce number of affordable homes on the market, and the lack of supply is stifling the efforts of many prospective buyers attempting to purchase while mortgage rates hover at historical lows.”
Regionally, July existing-home sales in the Northeast fell 13.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 660,000, sales in the Midwest fell 5.2 percent to a rate of 1.28 million, South sales dropped 1.8 percent to a rate of 2.22 million. Sales in the West increased 2.5 percent to a rate of 1.23 million.