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Existing Home Sales Headed for a Record Year

Existing homes were sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.83 million in June, which was just below a downwardly revised level of 5.85 million units in May, according to the Realtors®.

The June sales rate was 8.6% above the pace recorded a year earlier and it was tied for the fourth highest month on record.

"The slight easing of sales in June may reflect some weakness in labor markets, but historically low mortgage interest rates are helping new households to afford homes and allow existing owers to sell their homes and purchase another," said David Lereah, the association's chief economist. "This is the primary reason we expect a new sales record this year."

The national median existing-home price was $176,500 in June, up 7.7% from a median price of $163,900 a year earlier.

Regionally, sales rose 3.2% in the West, remained unchanged in the South and were down by 3% in the Midwest and 4.4% in the Northeast.

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