Sales of existing homes rose more than expected in July, but prices continued to fall and inventory increased. That’s according to the latest reading on the battered housing market by an industry trade group released Monday.
The National Association of Realtors reported that sales by homeowners in July increased to an annual pace of 5 million, up from the revised June reading of 4.85 million.
That’s better than the annual pace of 4.9 million that economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected, and it’s the highest pace since February. Still, July sales were down 13.2% from a year earlier.
“Sales volume is starting to increase because prices are collapsing,” said Michael Larson, an analyst with Weiss Research. “When lenders are aggressive enough on pricing, especially in certain markets, it’s enough to attract buying interest.”
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