Total existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family
homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, declined 5.4 percent to a seasonally
adjusted annual rate of 4.37 million in June from an upwardly revised 4.62
million in May, but are 4.5 percent higher than the 4.18 million-unit level in
June 2011.
Lawrence Yun,
NAR chief economist, said the bigger story is lower inventory and the recovery
in home prices. "Despite the frictions related to obtaining mortgages,
buyer interest remains solid. But inventory continues to shrink and that is
limiting buying opportunities. This, in turn, is pushing up home prices in many
markets," he said. "The price improvement also results from fewer
distressed homes in the sales mix."
According to Freddie
Mac, the national
average commitment rate for
a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage fell to a record low 3.68 percent
in June from 3.80 percent in May; the rate was 4.51 percent in June 2011;
recordkeeping began in 1971.
The national median
existing-home price for all
housing types was $189,400 in June, up 7.9 percent from a year ago. This marks
four back-to-back monthly price increases from a year earlier, which last
occurred in February to May of 2006. June's gain was the strongest since
February 2006 when the median price rose 8.7 percent from a year prior.
Distressed homes - foreclosures and short sales sold at
deep discounts - accounted for 25 percent of June sales (13 percent were
foreclosures and 12 percent were short sales), unchanged from May but down from
30 percent in June 2011. Foreclosures sold for an average discount of 18
percent below market value in June, while short sales were discounted 15
percent. "The distressed portion of the market will further diminish
because the number of seriously delinquent mortgages has been falling,"
said Yun.
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