Existing-home sales in U.S. slip 0.7 percent in July
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Total existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, decreased 0.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.34 million in July from 5.38 million in June.
With last month's decline, sales are now 1.5 percent below a year ago and have fallen on an annual basis for five straight months.
The median existing-home price for all housing types in July was $269,600, up 4.5 percent from July 2017 ($258,100). July's price increase marks the 77th straight month of year-over-year gains.
Total housing inventory at the end of July decreased 0.5 percent to 1.92 million existing homes available for sale (unchanged from a year ago). Unsold inventory is at a 4.3-month supply at the current sales pace (also unchanged from a year ago).
Properties typically stayed on the market for 27 days in July, up from 26 days in June but down from 30 days a year ago. Fifty-five percent of homes sold in July were on the market for less than a month. ■