Home sales lose steam in June

dennis-norman-st-louis-realtor-existing-home-salesYesterday’s existing home sales report from the National Association of REALTORS® shows existing home sales in June were at at a seasonally adjusted-annual rate of 4.37 million units which is a decrease of 5.4 percent from the month before, and a 4.5 percent increase from the year before and is at the lowest level since October 2011.

U.S. Home prices increase for fifth-consecutive month….

The median home price in the U.S. in June was $189,400, an increase of 5.0 percent from the month before and an increase of 7.9 percent from a year ago when the median price was $175,600.

Number of Homes for sale in U.S. decreases from month before, supply increases….

The number of existing homes on the market decreased in June by 3.2 percent from the previous month to 2.39 million homes, and decreased 24.4 percent from a year ago when there were 3.16 million homes for sale. The months supply of homes on the market increased 3.1 percent from the prior month to 6.6 months and is down 27.5 percent from a year ago when the supply was 9.1 months.

The bigger story….

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the bigger story is lower inventory and the recovery in home prices. “Despite the frictions related to obtaining mortgages, buyer interest remains solid. But inventory continues to shrink and that is limiting buying opportunities. This, in turn, is pushing up home prices in many markets,” he said. “The price improvement also results from fewer distressed homes in the sales mix.”

The following are the ACTUAL Existing Home sales for June, 2012 reported by NAR without any adjustment or fluff:

  • There were 462,000 existing homes sold during the month which is an increase of 3.1 percent from the month before and an increase of 5.0 percent from a year ago.
  • Below are highlights from each region for the month;
    • Northeast – 58,000 homes sold, an increase of 1.8 percent from the prior month and an increase of 7.4 percent from the year before.
    • Midwest – 111,000 homes sold, an increase of 2.8 percent from the prior month and an increase of 14.4 percent from the year before.
    • South – 179,000 homes sold, an increase of 5.9 percent from the prior month and an increase of 4.7 percent from the year before.
    • West – 114,000 homes sold, the same as the prior month and a decrease of 3.4 percent from the year before.

Other highlights of the NAR Report for June 2012:

  • Distressed sales (short sales and foreclosures) accounted for 25 percent of all home sales for the month (13 percent were foreclosures and 12 percent short sales), the same as the month before.
  • First-Time homebuyers accounted for 32 percent of the home sales for the month, down from 34 percent the month before.
  • Investors were the buyers of 19 percent of the homes for the month, up from 17 percent the month before.
  • Repeat home buyers were responsible for approximately 49 percent of the month’s sales the same as the month before.
  • Cash buyers were 29 percent of all sales for the month, up from 28 percent the month before.
  • Foreclosures typically sold for an average 18 percent below market price.
  • Short sales sold for an average 15 percent below market price.
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