RE/MAX: July Home Sales Down, But Sold at Faster Pace

RE/MAX, Denver, said July home sales decreased slightly, although homes sold at a faster rate than any month in nearly a decade.

The company’s August National Housing Report said July home sales declined by 0.8% year-over-year, while the median sales price of $239,950, while slightly lower than June’s, was 7.4% higher year-over-year. Homes sold quickly in July, with an average 45 days on market, a record low for the report.

RE/MAX said sales increased in 19 of the 54 metro areas surveyed. The median sales price was the highest for any July in the nine-year history of the report, driven in part by inventory, which dropped by 14.1% year-over-year, with 46 metro areas seeing fewer homes for sale or remaining unchanged. Year-over-year, inventory has declined every month since November 2008. The months’ supply of inventory hovered at 3.1 months, a new July low in the report.

“After a jump in home sales in May and June, it’s not unusual to see a dip in sales in July,” said Adam Contos, RE/MAX Co-CEO. “This summertime slowdown is a national trend that we sometimes see this time of year, even though this month’s decrease was razor thin. Low inventory continues to constrain the market. Successful buyers will have to be prepped and ready to act fast to purchase listings that, on average, are selling in record time.”

Of the 54 metro areas surveyed in July, the overall average number of home sales decreased 15.8% compared to June and 0.8% compared to a year ago. Nineteen of the 54 metro areas experienced an increase in sales year-over-year including, Las Vegas, +19.8%; Wilmington/Dover, Del., +16.9%; Augusta, Maine, +8.1%; Philadelphia, +4.9%; and Tampa, Fla. +4.8%.

Only three metro areas saw a year-over-year decrease in median sales price or remained unchanged (Billings, Mont, -2.2%; Anchorage, Alaska, -0.7%; and Houston, unchanged. Seven metro areas increased by double-digit percentages, with the largest increases seen in Seattle, +13.7%; Tampa, +13.5%; Milwaukee, +11.6%; Portland, Ore., +11.4% and Charlotte, N.C., +11.0%.

The report said average days on market for homes sold in July was 45, down two days from the average in June and down by eight days from a year ago. Metro areas with the lowest days on market were Omaha, Neb., and Seattle at 20, Denver at 22 and San Francisco at 24. The highest days on market averages were in Augusta, Maine at 98 and Miami at 81.

RE/MAX reported the number of homes for sale in July fell by 2.1% from June and by 14.1% from a year ago, with 52 of the 54 metro areas surveyed reported a months’ supply of less than 6.0, which is typically considered a seller’s market. At 7.4 and 6.2 respectively, Miami and Augusta were the only metro areas that saw a months’ supply above 6.0; markets with the lowest months’ supply were San Francisco at 1.2, Seattle at 1.3, Denver at 1.4 and Omaha at 1.6.