Resales Edge Down

Sales of previously owned single-family homes edged down 0.4% in July as the supply of unsold homes on the market was nearing record levels, according to the National Association of Realtors.The NAR reported that sales of existing single-family homes fell from a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.02 million in June to 5.0 million in July, which is off by 9.3% since July 2006. NAR senior economist Lawrence Yun said sales are holding on despite problems in the mortgage market. "Home sales probably would be rising in the absence of the mortgage liquidity problems of the past two months," he said. But home sales have declined over the past five months, and the supply of unsold single-family homes climbed to a 9.2-month supply -- uncomfortably close to the record 9.6-month supply set in September 1990 during the savings-and-loan crisis. The NAR economist noted that foreclosures may be pushing up the stock of unsold homes by 3% to 4%. The NAR report also shows that the median single-family house price fell to $228,600 in July, down 1% from the July 2006 price. The NAR can be found online at http://www.realtor.org.