Average values for existing homes are on the rise and the National Association of Realtors has reported a year-over-year 2% increase in deals for July, putting America on track for an annual sales volume of 4.01 million for 2025.
NAR said the median average value for a family home rose 1.7% year-over-year to $429,400 – a record high.
America has now had the 25th successive month of year-over-yearprice increases.
NAR said rising inventory levels meant homebuyers were “in the best position in more than five years to find the right home and negotiate for a better price”.
“Inventory is at its highest since May 2020 during the COVID lockdown,” it said.
In its Existing Home Sales Report, NAR said there had been a 0.6% increase in unsold inventory in July.
However, with the likelihood of a cut in interest rates, and the market entering the fall sales season, this increase in unsold inventory is unlikely to become a trend.
Sales of single-family homes increased by 2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.64 million, up 1.1% on the corresponding period last year.
Sales of condominiums rose 2.8% month-over-month to an annual rate of 370,000, which represents a fall of 2.6% in deal volumes compared with July, 2024.
The median price for condos is also down year-over-year, falling 1.2% to $362,600.
NAR’s confidence index shows that properties are on the market for an average 28 days before being sold – that’s four days more than in July, 2024.
First-time buyers currently represent 28% of all transactions for existing properties, a dip of 1% year-over-year
Nearly one-third of transactions (31%) were cash sales, which is 4% more than 12 months ago. A fifth of these deals were made by investors and second-home buyers.
NAR’s chief economist, Lawrence Yun, made sense of all these numbers, saying: “The ever-so-slight improvement in housing affordability is inching up home sales.
“Wage growth is now comfortably outpacing home price growth, and buyers have more choices.
“Overall, homeowners are doing well financially. Only 2% of sales were foreclosures or short sales – essentially a historic low.
“The market’s health is supported by a cumulative 49% home price appreciation for a typical American homeowner from pre-Covid July, 2019.
“Homebuyers are in the best position in more than five years to find the right home and negotiate for a better price. Current inventory is at its highest since May 2020, during the Covid lockdown.”
Meanwhile average mortgage rates dipped slightly to 6.72% from June’s 6.82%, according to Freddie Mac. In June 2024, the rate was 6.85%.