Existing-home sales rose for the third consecutive month with inventory easing and home prices declining less sharply in June, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.
Existing-home sales — including single-family, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops — increased 3.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.89 million units in June from a downwardly revised pace of 4.72 million in May, but are 0.2 percent lower than the 4.90 million-unit level in June 2008. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, is hopeful about the gain.
“The increase in existing-home sales occurred in all major regions of the country,” he says. “We expect a gradual uptrend in sales to continue due to tax-credit incentives and historically high affordability conditions. Despite the rise in closed transactions, many REALTORS® are reporting lost sales as a result of new appraisal standards that went into effect May 1 of this year.”