{"id":19312,"date":"2021-08-25T11:51:32","date_gmt":"2021-08-25T11:51:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.anthonydidonato.net\/wordpress\/?p=19312"},"modified":"2021-08-25T11:51:32","modified_gmt":"2021-08-25T11:51:32","slug":"hopeful-buyers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.anthonydidonato.net\/wordpress\/hopeful-buyers\/","title":{"rendered":"Hopeful Buyers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hopeful Buyers<\/h1>\n

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More homes are coming onto the market and as they do, home buyers are eager to snatch them up.<\/p>\n

Existing-home sales\u2014completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condos, and co-ops\u2014increased 2% in July compared to June, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.99 million, the National Association of REALTORS\u00ae reported Monday. Sales are up 1.5% compared to a year ago.<\/p>\n

As more homes enter the marketplace, opportunities for prospective buyers continue to increase in regions across the country, said NAR President Charlie Oppler. Housing inventories increased 7.3% in July compared to June, reaching 1.32 million homes for sale.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe see inventory beginning to tick up, which will lessen the intensity of multiple offers,\u201d said Lawrence Yun, NAR\u2019s chief economist. \u201cMuch of the home sales growth is still occurring in the upper-end markets, while the mid- to lower-tier areas aren\u2019t seeing as much growth because there are still too few starter homes available.\u201d<\/p>\n

But home prices continue to surge. The median existing-home price for all housing types in July was $359,900, an increase of nearly 18% compared to a year ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough we shouldn\u2019t expect to see home prices drop in the coming months, there is a chance that they will level off as inventory continues to gradually improve,\u201d Yun said. \u201cIn the meantime, some prospective buyers who are priced out are raising the demand for rental homes and thereby pushing up the rental rates.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a closer look at additional housing indicators from NAR’s July housing report:<\/p>\n

Days on the market:<\/strong>\u00a0Properties typically remained on the market for 17 days in July, down from 22 days a year ago. Eighty-nine percent of homes sold in July were on the market for less than a month.<\/p>\n

First-time buyers:\u00a0<\/strong>First-time buyers comprised 30% of sales in July, down from 34% in July 2020.<\/p>\n

All-cash buyers: <\/strong>All-cash sales accounted for 23% of transactions in July, up from 16% in July 2020. Individual investors or second-home buyers comprise the majority of cash sales. They purchased 15% of homes in July, unchanged from the 15% seen in July 2020.<\/p>\n

Regional Breakdown<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how existing-home sales fared across the country in July:<\/p>\n