Existing-Home Sales Fall for the Sixth Straight Month, Decline 5.9% in July 2022

NAR released a summary of existing-home sales data showing that housing market activity this July fell 5.9% from June 2022. July's existing-home sales reached 4.81 million at seasonally adjusted annual rates. July's sales of existing homes declined 20.2% from July 2021. July's sales represent the sixth consecutive month of decline.

The national median existing-home price for all housing types reached $403,800 in June, up 10.8% from a year ago. Home prices have continued to climb, marking the 125th consecutive month of year-over-year gains.

Regionally, in July, all four regions showed strong price growth from a year ago. The South had the most significant gain of 14.7%, followed by the Northeast and the West; both shared an incline of 8.1%. The Midwest had the smallest price gain of 7.0% from July 2021.

July's inventory of unsold listings as of the end of the month rose 4.8% from last month, standing at 1,310,000 homes for sale. Compared with July 2021, inventory levels were flat. It will take 3.3 months to move the current inventory level at the current sales pace, well below the desired rate of 6 months.

Demand remains strong as home buyers are snatching listings quickly off the MLS, and it takes approximately 14 days for a home to go from listing to a contract in the current housing market. A year ago, it took 17 days.

Compared to a year ago, all of the four regions had double-digit declines in sales in July. The West had the most significant dip of 30.4%, followed by the South, which fell 19.6%. The Northeast decreased by 16.2%, followed by the Midwest, down by 14.4%.

Compared to June 2022, all four regions also showed reductions in sales. The West region had the most significant decline of 9.4%, followed by the Northeast with a drop of 7.5%. The South fell 5.3%, followed by the Midwest with the most minor dip in sales of 3.3%.

The South led all regions in percentage of national sales, accounting for 44.3% of the total, while the Northeast had the smallest share at 12.9%.

In July, single-family sales decreased 5.5%, and condominium sales fell 9.1% compared to last month. Single-family home sales were 19.0%, while condominium sales fell 29.6% compared to a year ago. The median sales price of single-family homes rose to 13.3% at $410,600 from July 2021, while the median sales price of condominiums rose 9.9% to $345,000.