Existing Home Sales Fall in June As Inventory Remains Low

• July 22, 2013

by Shilpi Paul

Existing home sales declined in June, according to a report out Monday from the National Association of Realtors. Sales fell to 5.08 million in June, from 5.14 in May, though June’s sales are still 15.2 percent higher than a year ago.

However, as Trulia’s chief economist Jed Kolko pointed out, the news of a drop in sales should not be panic-inducing. The decrease in sales was largely the result of fewer distressed sales, and a closer look into the numbers reveals that conventional sales were up 2.4 percent month-over-month. It will be a month or two until the report reveals how big an effect the rise in interest rates is having on existing sales.

One of the biggest takeaways from the report relates to inventory. Total housing inventory rose to 2.19 million, about a 1.7 percent increase month-over-month, and is down just about 8 percent versus last year.

From Calculated Risk’s Bill McBride:

This is the lowest level of inventory for the month of June since 2001, but this is also the smallest year-over-year decline since June 2011. The key points are: 1) inventory is very low, but 2) the year-over-year inventory decline will probably end soon. With the low level of inventory, there is still upward pressure on prices – but as inventory starts to increase, buyer urgency will wane, and price increases will slow.

For the full report, click here.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/nar_existing_home_sales_fall_in_june/7350