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Home sales for July decreased slightly from the previous month after increasing for four months in a row, according to the July 2014 RE/MAX National Housing Report released on August 14. Meanwhile, home prices fell marginally month-over-month but increased year-over-year.
The number of home sales for July dropped by 3.1 percent from June and decreased by 6.8 percent from July 2013. Even though home sales are down from last year, they are still higher than what they were in 2012. Even though home sales have experienced a month-over-month increase in four of the last five months, the RE/MAX July report found that the number of home sales went up year-over-year in only 13 out of the 52 metro areas surveyed. Tulsa, Oklahoma, had the highest increase at 9.8 percent.
"After a slow start to the year, 2014 home sales have been improving," said Margaret Kelly, RE/MAX CEO. "Sales are following the expected seasonal pattern and are approaching the levels we saw last year. As inventory continues to build the recovery continues at a more stable and sustainable rate."
According to the latest RE/MAX report, the median home price of $204,550 for July in the 52 metro areas was down 2.4 percent from June but up 7.9 percent from a year ago. July 2013 saw an 11.5 percent year-over-year increase in home prices, but growth was slower in July 2014 due to improved inventory.
July was the 30th consecutive month in which home prices increased year-over-year, according to RE/MAX. Overall, 44 out of the 52 metro areas surveyed reported a year-over-year spike in home prices with the largest increase happening in Miami, Florida, at 10.5 percent.
The average number of days on the market for each home fell by two days both month-over-month and year-over-year, RE/MAX reported. Low inventory combined with high demand has caused the drop in the number of days on the market for each home; the average days on the market has been below 90 in the 52 metro areas for 26 consecutive months.
RE/MAX reported that inventory of homes for sale in July inched downward by 1.1 percent from June and dropped by 3.5 percent from July 2013. The months supply of inventory, which is calculated by dividing the number of homes listed for sale at month's end by the number of contracts signed during the month, increased slightly from 4.1 in June to 4.3 in July. San Francisco had the lowest months supply at 1.5.
