A “For Sale” sign outside a house in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025. <\/p>\n
Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images<\/p>\n
Sales of previously owned homes rose 2% in July compared with June to 4.01 million units, on a seasonally adjusted, annualized basis, according to the National Association of realtors. Housing analysts had been expecting a slight decline. Sales were 0.8% higher than July 2024.<\/p>\n
These sales are counted by closings, so contacts likely signed in May and June, when the average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage was in decline. That rate exceeded 7% briefly in May and then ended June at 6.67%, according to Mortgage News Daily.<\/p>\n
There were 1.55 million homes for sale at the end of July, an increase of 15.7% from the same month last year. At the current sales pace, that represents a 4.6-month supply. A 6-month supply is considered balanced between buyer and seller. <\/p>\n
Inventory is now at the highest level since May 2020 but still well below pre-Covid years.<\/p>\n
More inventory is clearly taking the pressure off prices. The median price of an existing home sold in July was $422,400, an increase of 0.2% from the same month a year earlier and a record high price for the month of July. Prices have been higher annually for the last 25 months, but the market may now be at an inflection point.<\/p>\n
“The ever-so-slight improvement in housing affordability is inching up home sales,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “Wage growth is now comfortably outpacing home price growth, and buyers have more choices.”<\/p>\n
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