The inventory of existing homes for sale rose while prices eased somewhat from their record-highs in July, suggesting some relief may be in store for prospective buyers gripped by months of surging prices.
“We see inventory beginning to tick up, which will lessen the intensity of multiple offers,” Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said in a statement.
“Although we shouldn’t 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,” Yun added.
Strong demand in the booming housing market has pushed to prospective buyers to outbid one another, leading many homes to sell above listing price. The typical home remained on the market for 17 days in July, the same level as June but down from 22 days a year ago, according to NAR. In July, 89 percent of homes sold were on the market for less than a month.
Existing home sales rose by 2 percent month-over-month in July, the second consecutive month of increases, though the bulk of the growth was driven by higher-end property sales.
“Much of the home sales growth is still occurring in the upper-end markets, while the mid- to lower-tier areas aren’t seeing as much growth because there are still too few starter homes available,” Yun said.
“Some prospective buyers who are priced out are raising the demand for rental homes and thereby pushing up the rental rates,” Yun said.