Existing-home sales rise, prices still falling

Sales of existing homes rose to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5 million units in July — their highest level in five months, according a report released today by the National Association of Realtors in Washington. The sales were up 3.1% from June, but down 13.2% from the same month a year ago, the report said. Sales of single-family homes climbed 3.1% to a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.39 million from 4.26 million in June. However, they still trail year-ago levels by 12.4%. Sales of condominium and co-ops increased 3.4% to a seasonally adjusted rate of 610,000 units in July from 590,000 in June. However, they’re down 18.6% from the same month a year earlier. Despite the rise number of sales, the median price on homes sold in July was $212,400, down 7.1% from $228,600 a year earlier. Single-family home prices saw the biggest decline, falling 7.7% while condo and co-op prices slipped 2.7%. Lawrence Yung, NAR’s chief economist, expects prices to start picking up in some regions. “Sales have picked up significantly in several Florida and California markets, [and] home prices generally follow sales trends after a few months of lag time,” he said. Still, inventory remains high in many parts of the country and will need time to burn off, Mr. Yung said. Indeed, the number of homes for sale in the market rose 3.9% to 4.67 million homes in July. Based on the current sales volume, this inventory would take 11.2 months to sell, which is up from the inventory level of 11.1 months in June.