- Sales of previously-owned homes made almost no progress in July, the National Association of Realtors said.
- Mortgage rates, while down fractionally compared to last week, are still higher than those on the home loans held by nearly 90% of all Americans.
- Many market observers expect rates to decline further as the Federal Reserve gets ready to cut benchmark interest rates.
There are glimmers of hope in the U.S. housing market, and ambitious buyers might finally find what they’re looking for in coming months, according to reports released Thursday.
To be sure, the reports look pretty grim. Sales of previously-owned homes made almost no progress, the National Association of Realtors said, gaining only 1.3% in July and stuck around levels last seen in the depths of the recession caused by the subprime crisis. And mortgage rates, while down fractionally compared to last week, are still higher than those on the home loans held by nearly 90% of all Americans.
But both readings are going in the right direction, said Danielle Hale, chief economist for Realtor.com
“It’s nice to see an improvement in the existing-home sales,” Hale said.
In particular, Hale was heartened by the growth in inventory of homes for sale. It’s a still-low 1.3 million units, down nearly one-third compared to what was on the market in the years before the pandemic. Still, that represents a 20% jump in homes compared to a year ago. And with fewer sales taking place, that means there’s 4 months’ worth…
