According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage dropped for the second consecutive month to 4.16 percent in June from 4.19 percent in May, and is the lowest since last June (4.07 percent).
Properties sold faster for the sixth consecutive month in June; highlighting the fact that inventory is still lagging relative to demand. The median time on market for all homes was 44 days in June, down from 47 days in May; it was 37 days on market in June 2013. Short sales were on the market for a median of 120 days in June, while foreclosures sold in 54 days and non-distressed homes typically took 42 days. Forty-two percent of homes sold in June were on the market for less than a month.
For the third consecutive month—as well as the average of the previous 12 months—all-cash sales in June were 32 percent of transactions, up from 31 percent in June 2013. Individual investors, who account for many cash sales, purchased 16 percent of homes in June, unchanged from May; they were 17 percent in June 2013. Sixty-nine percent of investors paid cash in June.
Single-family home sales rose 2.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.43 million in June from 4.32 million in May, but remain 2.9 percent below the 4.56 million pace a year ago. The median existing single-family home price was $224,300 in June, up 4.5 percent from June 2013.
Existing condominium and co-op sales increased 3.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 610,000 units in June from 590,000 in May, and are 1.7 percent above the 600,000 unit pace a year ago. The median existing condo price was $215,700 in June, which is 3.2 percent higher than a year ago.
Regionally, existing-home sales in the Northeast rose 3.2 percent to an annual rate of 640,000 in June, but are 3.0 percent below a year ago. The median price in the Northeast was $269,800, slightly below (0.1 percent) June 2013.
In the Midwest, existing-home sales jumped 6.2 percent to an annual rate of 1.20 million in June, but remain 2.4 percent below June 2013. The median price in the Midwest was $177,900, up 4.6 percent from a year ago.
Existing-home sales in the South inched 0.5 percent higher to an annual level of 2.06 million in June, and are up 1.0 percent from June 2013. The median price in the South was $192,600, up 3.4 percent from a year ago.
Existing-home sales in the West rose 2.7 percent to an annual rate of 1.14 million in June, but remain 7.3 percent below a year ago. The median price in the West was $301,000, which is 7.2 percent above June 2013.
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