CHICAGO, July 23 (Xinhua) -- U.S. existing-home sales in June declined 1.7 percent from May, mainly due to insufficient supply of mid-to-lower priced homes, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said on Tuesday.

Total existing-home sales, referring to completed transactions which include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, dropped to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.27 million in June.

Sales as a whole were down 2.2 percent from a year ago.

"Home sales are running at a pace similar to 2015 levels, even with exceptionally low mortgage rates, a record number of jobs and a record high net worth in the country," said Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist, who contributed the fall of sales to imbalanced housing supply.

"Imbalance persists for mid-to-lower priced homes with solid demand and insufficient supply, which is consequently pushing up home prices," said Yun.

According to NAR data, the median existing-home price for all housing types in June reached an all-time high of 285,700 U.S. dollars, up 4.3 percent from June 2018, which is the 88th straight month of year-over-year gains.

Properties typically remained on the market for 27 days in June, up from 26 days in May and in June of 2018. Fifty-six percent of homes sold in June were on the market for less than a month.

According to Freddie Mac, or Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, the average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage decreased from 4.07 percent in May to 3.80 percent in June, which NAR President John Smaby described as "incredibly attractive."

"Either a strong pent-up demand will show in the upcoming months, or there is a lack of confidence that is keeping buyers from this major expenditure," said Yun.

As for regional breakdown, June existing-home sales rose slightly month on month in the U.S. Northeast and Midwest but decreased in the South and West regions. Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)