Updated
Updated · WOLF STREET · Aug 11
Existing Home Sales Fall 1.9% as July Supply Hits 4.6-Month 10-Year High
Updated
Updated · WOLF STREET · Aug 11

Existing Home Sales Fall 1.9% as July Supply Hits 4.6-Month 10-Year High

3 articles · Updated · WOLF STREET · Aug 11

Summary

  • Single-family existing home sales fell 1.9% in July from June to a 3.69 million annual rate, marking a second straight monthly decline and extending a four-year slump.
  • Supply climbed to 4.6 months—the highest since summer 2016—as inventory rose to 1.4 million homes, while condo and co-op sales stayed at 370,000 and their supply reached 6.6 months, the highest since 2012.
  • The South and Midwest led the pullback, with sales down 3.1% and 2.0%; the West was flat and the Northeast rose 2.0%, though all four regions remained below 2019 levels.
  • Freddie Mac's 30-year mortgage rate stood at 6.69%, and the report argues persistent inflation—not unusually high rates—is keeping affordability strained after the pandemic-era price surge.
  • Nationally, the median single-family price was $440,300, up 1.9% from a year earlier, but local markets remain split, with prices down 10% to 26% in cities including Austin and Oakland.

Insights

With national home sales hitting a four-year low, why are luxury markets like Manhattan suddenly shattering price records?
If mortgage rates aren't the real culprit behind the housing freeze, what hidden force is keeping buyers sidelined in 2026?
As inflation outpaces home prices, will rising inventory finally burst the post-pandemic housing bubble or just create new gridlock?