The pace of US existing home sales fell by 1.7% to a 4.06 million seasonally adjusted annual rate in July from 4.13 million in June, compared with a larger expected decrease to a 4.05 million rate in a survey compiled by Bloomberg as of 7:40 am ET, data from the National Association of Realtors released Tuesday showed.
Total sales were up 0.7% from a year earlier.
"Home sales have been remarkably stable, even amid the rising mortgage rate environment of the past few months," said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. "Year-to-date sales are up 2.4% and there's no doubt that the housing market would be thriving if average mortgage rates were to return near 6%."
Sales of single-family homes were down 1.9%, while condominium sales held steady.
Sales were down in the Midwest and South regions of the country, rose in the Northeast and held steady in the West region. Compared with a year earlier, sales rose in the Midwest and West regions but held steady in the Northeast and South regions.
Homes remained on the market a median of 29 days, up from 28 days in June and 28 days a year ago.
The supply of homes for sale decreased to 1.54 million homes in July from 1.57 million in June and was down 0.6% from the 1.55 million level a year ago.
The month supply on market was unchanged from 4.6 months in June and from a year ago.
The median home price declined to $434,100 from $442,800 but was up 2% from a $425,700 level one year ago and was the highest for a July report on record.
"Though the national data shows stabilization, there are notable local market variations," Yun said. "In smaller cities, and particularly in the Midwest, an annual household income of $60,000 would be sufficient to buy a median-priced home."
The monthly existing home sales report from the National Association of Realtors measures sales of single-family and multi-family homes for resale at the time of closing, including the number of existing homes available and the median sales price. A strong reading is a positive sign for mortgage lenders and related consumer product companies.
The monthly existing home sales report from the National Association of Realtors measures sales of single-family and multi-family homes for resale at the time of closing, including the number of existing homes available and the median sales price. A strong reading is a positive sign for mortgage lenders and related consumer product companies.