Existing home sales in the United States climbed by 1.3% month on month in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.95 million, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said in a report released on Thursday. On a yearly basis, the sales dropped by 2.5%.
The median existing-home sales price for all housing types grew by 4.2% annually to $422,600 in the reported month. Total housing inventory at the end of July stood at 1.33 million units, rising by 0.8% from June and surging by 19.8% year-on-year.
"Despite the modest gain, home sales are still sluggish. But consumers are definitely seeing more choices, and affordability is improving due to lower interest rates," NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun commented on the report.
