Existing-Home Sales Drops For Fourth Straight Month, Drops Significantly in the Northeast

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) released their existing-home sales report for July and for the fourth consecutive month sales have been down.  The report indicated that existing-home sales are moving at the slowest pace in the last two year.  The Northeast had a significant drop in existing-home sales as affordability and inventory issues continue to plague the industry.

Total existing-home sales which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops fell 0.7% to an annual rate of 5.34 million for July.  The adjusted projected rate has declined from 5.38 million in June. Chief economist for the NAR Lawrence Yun stated  “Led by a notable decrease in closings in the Northeast, existing home sales trailed off again last month, sliding to their slowest pace since February 2016 at 5.21 million.  Too many would-be buyers are either being priced out, or are deciding to postpone their search until more homes in their price range come onto the market.”

Median prices for existing-homes increased for the 77th consecutive month.  The median price jumped to $269,600 which increased 4.5% from July 2017.  Total housing inventory decreased to .5% to 1.92 million which is unchanged from the amount available at the same time last year.

On a regional level the Northeast saw the biggest drop in existing home sales for the month.  Sales dropped 8.3% to an annual rate of 660,000.  The median price for an existing home in the Northeast was $309,700.  This is an increase of 6.8 percent from the same time last year.  The Midwest saw sales decline 1.6% to a rate of 1.25 million in July.   The median prices in the Midwest was up 2.5% from 2017 to $210,500.  In the South, sales decreased 0.4% to a rate of 2.24 million in July. The median price in the South was up 2.7% to a price of $233,400.  The West was the only region to see an increase of 4.4%  to a rate of 1.19 million in July. Median prices in the West increased 5.1% to $392,700 from July 2017.

Blue Harbour Property Management is a full service NYC property management company servicing the boroughs of Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan and the Bronx.  Whether it be a 1 bedroom condo or multi-family building we are able to assist our clients maximize their investments.

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