Since areas have opened up after the lockdowns during the spring months home sales have been on the rise. For a period of three months home sales had declined as restrictions were in place, but now they have been fast increasing with a 20.7% boost 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 significant growth.
Existing home sales are defined by completed sold transactions of condos, co-ops, single families and townhomes. Sales of these properties had shown a 20.7% jump in June from the previous month in May. This was a drastic resurgence yet by comparison to last year numbers are still down 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.”
Prices of Homes
The median price of all types of properties has also shown an increase in all 4 major areas of the United States. Prices of homes were up by 3.5% over the year before which now marked the 100th month in a row for price increases.
Inventory Numbers
Housing inventory is still very low. The limited number of homes on the market has been a constant issue for a while and the pandemic only exacerbated this. Inventory for the month of June by comparison of the same time last year is down by 18.2%.
Average Number of Days on Market
The average number of days on the market for homes in June was 24 days. This was lower than May at 26 days and also down from 27 days in June of 2019.
Mortgage Rate Trends
Home loan rates continue to be extremely low. Per Freddie Mac, the average commitment rate was 3.16% in June for a 30 year conventional fixed rate loan. By comparison the average for all of 2019 was 3.94%.