The National Association of REALTORS issued their Housing Minute Report for July 2019. Pending home sales fell 2.5% in July, with each of the four major regions of the country seeing a decline in contract activity.
The main key facts are:
• Properties were typically on the market for 29 days (27 days in July 2018).
• 80% of respondents reported that home prices remained constant or rose in July 2019 compared to levels one year ago (86 percent in July 2018).
• REALTORS® report “low inventory” and “interest rate” as the major issues affecting transactions in July 2019.
Regarding Buyers and Sellers characteristics, the NAR report pointed out the following:
• First-time buyers accounted for 32% of sales (32% in July 2018).
• Vacation and investment buyers comprised 11% of sales (12% in July 2018).
• Sales of distressed properties (foreclosed or sold as a short sale) accounted for 2% of sales (3% in July 2018).
• Cash sales made up 19% of sales (20% in July 2018).
• 19% of sellers offered incentives such as paying for closing costs (9%), providing warranty (8%), and undertaking to remodel (2%).
These numbers are based on REALTORS® Confidence Index July 2019. The REALTORS® Confidence Index is a key indicator of housing market strength based on a monthly survey sent to over 50,000 real estate practitioners.
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