U.S. existing home sales fall in July

Existing home sales in the United States fell in July because of tight inventory and rising prices, an industry report showed Wednesday.

Total existing home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, fell 3.2 percent from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.39 million in July, ending a fourth consecutive month increase, said the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

Sales are now 1.6 percent below a year ago, the first year-over-year decline since November 2015.

"Severely restrained inventory and the tightening grip it's putting on affordability is the primary culprit for the considerable sales slump throughout much of the country last month," said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun in a statement.

"Although home sales are still expected to finish the year at their strongest pace since the downturn, thanks to a very strong spring, the housing market is undershooting its full potential because of inadequate existing inventory combined with new home construction failing to catch up with underlying demand," Yun added.

Total housing inventory at the end of July added 0.9 percent to 2.13 million existing homes available for sales, which represents a 4.7-month supply at the current sales pace, higher than the 4.5 months in June. Compared with the data in July 2015, total housing inventory is still 5.8 percent lower.

The median existing home price for all housing types in July was 244,100 U.S. dollars, 5.3 percent above the level a year ago, making the 53rd consecutive month of year-over-year gains. Endit