Home Sales Show Dramatic 20% Increase

Home sales are rising after lockdowns

Now that regions have been opening back up after the lockdowns that we had during the spring home sales have been on the rise. For a three month period home sales had declined while restrictions were in place, but now they have been fast increasing with a 20.7% surge seen in the month of June according to a recent report by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). All of the 4 major areas of the country have seen this tremendous growth.

Total existing home sales which are defined by completed sales transactions of condos, co-ops, single families and townhomes had shown a 20.7% positive jump in June from the previous month in May. This was a significant rebound yet by comparison to last year numbers are still lower by 11.3%.

“The sales recovery is strong, as buyers were eager to purchase homes and properties that they had been eyeing during the shutdown,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “This revitalization looks to be sustainable for many months ahead as long as mortgage rates remain low and job gains continue.”

Home Price Trends
The median price of all property types has also seen a continued increase in all major areas of the United States. Prices were up by 3.5% over last year which marked the 100th month in a row for price increases.

Inventory Levels
Housing inventory is still very low. The limited number of homes on the market has been a long time issue and the pandemic has only further exacerbated this. Inventory for the month of June as compared to the same time last year is down by 18.2%.

Number of Days on Market
The average days on the market for properties in June was 24 days. This was fewer days than May at 26 days and also down from 27 days in June of last year.

Mortgage Rates
Loan rates continue to be at all time lows. Per Freddie Mac, the average commitment rate was 3.16% in June for a 30 year conventional fixed rate home loan. By comparison the average rate for all of 2019 was 3.94%.