Existing home sales in the Northeast fell 17 percent to an annual pace of 730,000 in June compared to the same time last year, according to a recent report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The median price in the Northeast was $261,000, up 3.1 percent from a year ago.
Nationally, sales of previously owned homes unexpectedly fell in June to touch a seven-month low as cancellations of pending contracts surged, indicating continued weakness in the housing sector.
NAR said on Wednesday sales fell 8.8 percent to an annual rate of 4.77 million units compared to June 2010. Economists polled by Reuters had expected sales to rise to a 4.9 million-unit pace.
"There is really nothing new to say about housing, the market continues to be really soft and demand is really definitely lackluster," said Sean Incremona, an economist at 4CAST in New York. "There are plenty of headwinds facing housing and this continues to suggest that we are bumping along the bottom."
NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said it was unclear why cancellations had jumped in June, but added that the weak economy could have been a factor.
The decline in sales dampened hopes that a mild improvement was underway in a sector that has been plagued by an oversupply of for-sale properties and falling prices.
Data on Tuesday showed groundbreaking for homes touched a six-month high in June, partly boosted by growing demand for rental apartments.
Continued housing market weakness is helping to constrain national growth and June’s soft sales could add to concerns about the economy’s ability to swiftly rebound this quarter after stumbling badly in the first half of the year.
Government data next week is expected to confirm the economy lost further ground in the second quarter after a pedestrian 1.9 percent annual growth pace in the January-March period.
Despite the weak sales pace and a rise in the inventory of homes on the market, prices rose nationwide. The median home price climbed 0.8 percent in June from a year earlier to $184,300.
June’s sales pace pushed the supply of existing homes on the market 9.5 months’ worth, the highest since November. A supply of between six and seven months is generally considered ideal. (Reuters)
