US Existing Home Sales Rise More than Expected

Existing home sales in the United States fell by 1.7% from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 4.05 million units in July of 2026, relatively close to market expectations of 4.06 million. It follows a 1.4% decline in the previous month. Existing home sales declined in the South (-3.1%) and Midwest (-2%) regions while sales were relatively unchanged in the West, offsetting the 2% increase in the Northeast. Total housing inventory decreased 1.9% to 1.54 million units and the median price was $434,100 for all housing types, a 2% increase from last year. “Home sales have been remarkably stable, even amid the rising mortgage rate environment of the past few months,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Year-to-date sales are up 2.4% and there’s no doubt that the housing market would be thriving if average mortgage rates were to return near 6%”.

Existing home sales in the United States fell by 2.4% from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted, annualized rate of 4.09 million units in June of 2026, firmly below expectations that they would hold steady at 4.20 million. Sales fell in the South (-3.6% to 1.89 million), the Midwest (-3.0% to 0.98 million), and the West (-1.3% to 0.74 million), offsetting an increase in the Northeast (2.1% to 0.48 million). With the last sales results, inventory fell by 0.6% to 1.56 million units, equivalent to 4.6 months of supply. Meanwhile, the average price of existing home sales rose by 1.8% from the previous year to $440,600, the most in over one year.

Existing home sales in the United States rose by 3.2% from the previous month to an annualized rate of 4.17 million, extending the rebound from the seven-month low in March. The result surpassed market expectations of a softer rebound to 4.07 million despite the elevated levels of mortgage rates in the period, as high energy prices and a robust labor market drove long-maturity Treasury yields to rise. Sales were firmly higher in the South (3.2% to 1.96 million) and the Midwest (6.4% to 1.0 million), while the increase was lower in the Northeast (2.2% to 0.46 million) and sales were unchanged at the West (0.75 million). Inventory grew by 3.3% on the month, the highest in 10 months, equivalent to 4.5 months of supply at the latest sales rate.