Following the release of new-home sales data by the Department of Commerce, Amherst Pierpont Securities’ chief economist Stephen Stanley points out that overall home sales hit almost a two-year low.
Stanley writes, “Combined with the softness in existing home sales, the overall home sales figure dipped below 6 million in July." In the same month, the share of new home inventory hit a near 10-year high, with 5.9 months of available inventory. MarketWatch reports that interest rate increases, home prices that continue to appreciate, albeit more slowly, and added rental inventory may be part of the reason for fewer sales.
As a reminder, sales of previously-owned homes make up the vast majority of housing market sales. Those sales declined for the fourth month in a row in July, and touched the lowest point in over two years, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday. The housing market has made little progress over the past year or so, and this summer, the wind officially seems to have gone out of its sails. One after another, the economic data reports have disappointed, leading MarketWatch to observe, back in June, that the current housing cycle may have run its course.
