Okay so even though June's existing home sales are up, they are still below where they were this time last year. The good news is that all signs point to a continuing rise. According to a study from NAR (National Association of Realtors), who counts single family, condo, town homes and Co-ops in the total numbers. Existing home sales are up over 2.5% for the month of June, topping an annual rate of 5 million for the first time since October of last year.
“inventories are at their highest level in over a year, and price gains have slowed to much more welcoming levels in many parts of the country,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “This bodes well for rising home sales in the upcoming months as consumers are provided with more choices.”
But supply shortages in certain areas, particularly the West, means that construction of new homes needs to increase before housing makes a full recovery, he said.
Plus, while the economy is adding jobs at a healthy clip, wage growth is stagnant. This “is leaving a large pool of potential homebuyers on the sidelines who otherwise would be taking advantage of low interest rates,” Yun said.