Complain about a product or service

Existing Home Sales Dip for Fifth Month

Sales off in July, with biggest decline in the Midwest

August 28, 2007

Total existing-home sales -- including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops -- slipped 0.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate(1) of 5.75 million units in July from an upwardly revised pace of 5.76 million in June, and are 9.0 percent below the 6.32 million-unit level in July 2006.

Lawrence Yun, NAR senior economist, said the market is holding on despite temporary mortgage disruptions.

"Home sales probably would be rising in the absence of the mortgage liquidity issues of the past two months," he said. "Some buyers with contracts have been scrambling when loan commitments did not materialize at the last moment, while other potential buyers are simply waiting for the mortgage market to stabilize.”

"The rise in sales and prices in the Northeast region on a fairly consistent basis in recent months is promising because this was the first region that underwent sales and price weakness after the boom,” said Yun. “Now, it appears that it will be the first region to climb back, indicating that other regions could follow a similar path."

According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage was 6.70 percent in July, up from 6.66 percent in June; the rate was 6.76 percent in July 2006. Last week, Freddie Mac reported the 30-year fixed rate dropped to 6.52 percent.

The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $228,900 in July, down 0.6 percent from July 2006 when the median was $230,200, the highest monthly price on record. The decline was the 12th in 12 months -- a record stretch. The median is a typical market price where half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less..

Total housing inventory rose 5.1 percent at the end of June to a record level of 4.59 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 9.6-month supply at the current sales pace, up from an upwardly revised 9.1-month supply in June.

Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.

Back to the top |