The lack of choices slow home sales/Richmond joins NY in another mfr'g contraction

Existing home sales in July totaled 4.07mm, 80k less than expected and down from 4.16mm in June. That is the smallest number of existing home closings since January and just 50k from the least since 2010. Months’ supply rose to 3.3 and does so every year during spring and summer. For comparison, it was 4.2 in July 2019 and 4.3 in July 2018. Actual homes for sale in July are down 15% y/o/y. The median home price rose 1.9% y/o/y.

The first time home buyer made up 30% of purchases, up from 27% in June and vs 29% in July 2022 and it’s hugely important that the first time buyer comes back to this market but affordability is terrible. Just as this data was hitting the tape from the NAR, the Atlanta Fed’s Home Ownership Affordability Monitor Index came out and it fell to the lowest since last October due to, you know what, “elevated mortgage rates and housing shortages across the United States.” https://www.atlantafed.org/center-for-housing-and-policy/data-and-tools/home-ownership-affordability-monitor?utm_medium=email&utm_source=mailchimp&utm_campaign=home-owner-affordability-monitor