This past June, sales of previously owned U.S. homes rose for the third consecutive month, indicating that the housing marketing is continuing to gain momentum.
The most recent existing-home sales report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) shows that this rise in sales has spurred activity to an eight-month high. In fact, sales increased 2.6 percent to a 5.04 million annual rate last month, led by encouraging increases across all four U.S. regions.
While market conditions are becoming more balanced, the report still points to a shortage of homes on the market, something we will be keeping an eye on over the coming months.
Here is a breakdown of the numbers in today’s report:
• Total housing inventory rose in June by 2.2 percent, resulting in 2.3 million existing homes available for sale. This represents a 5.5-month supply with unsold inventory up 6.5 percent over a year ago.
• The median price of an existing-home increased 4.3 percent to $223,000, up from $214,000 a year ago.
• First-time home buyers accounted for 28 percent of all purchases in June, up from 27 percent in May.
• Regional data shows that existing-home sales led gains across four U.S. regions. There was a 6.2 percent gain in the Midwest, followed by a 3.2 percent increase in the Northeast. Sales rose by 2.7 percent in the West and 0.5 percent in the South.
With regional home sales on the rise, here is a look at a few listings from across the country at the June 2014 median price:
Northeast: $269,800
Westfield, MA $262,500
3 bedrooms, 2 baths
Midwest: $177,900
Mchenry, IL $177,000
3 bedrooms, 2 baths
South: $192,600
Cypress, TX $192,000
4 bedrooms, 2 baths
West: $301,000
Nine Mile Falls, WA
3 bedrooms, 2 baths
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