Home Sales Tick Up in July as More Listings Hit the Market

After years of tight supply, the housing market is finally loosening up — and buyers are starting to notice.

Sales of previously owned homes rose 2% in July compared with June, hitting an annualized pace of 4.01 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). That’s a modest gain, but it beat economists’ expectations, which had actually predicted a dip. Sales were also up slightly — **0.8% — from a year ago.

The big story? Inventory. There were 1.55 million homes for sale at the end of July, up nearly 16% from last year and the most since May 2020. That’s still short of the pre-pandemic norm, but it’s giving buyers more options and easing the breakneck price growth of the past few years.

The median home price in July was $422,400, basically flat from last year — just a 0.2% increase — but still a record for the month of July. Prices have now risen for 25 straight months, though the slowdown suggests the market may finally be at an inflection point.

“Affordability has improved a little, and that’s nudging sales higher,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist.

He noted that wage growth is now outpacing home price growth, while the bump in supply is giving buyers more breathing room.

Who’s Buying, and What’s Selling:

• Luxury homes are driving the action. Sales of homes priced over $1 million jumped 7% year-over-year.
• Entry-level sales slid. Homes under $100,000 dropped 8%, while those between $100,000–$250,000 dipped 0.1%.
• Cash is king. About 31% of sales were all-cash, up from 27% last year, thanks in part to stock market gains and investor activity.
• Investors are back. They made up 20% of sales, compared with 13% last year.
• First-time buyers fell off. They accounted for 28% of sales, down from 30% in June.

Homes are also taking longer to move. The average home sold in 28 days, compared with 24 days a year earlier.

Mortgage rates, still hovering around 6.5%–7%, remain a big hurdle for many buyers. But with inventory rising and prices leveling off, real estate agents say buyers who can afford today’s rates are gaining leverage — with more sellers lowering prices or throwing in extras like closing cost help.

As Yun summed it up:

“Things are a little better today as a buyer compared to just a couple of years ago.”

With input from CNBC, the Associated Press, Bloomberg.