July proved to be a mixed month for the housing recovery, recording some strength in the sale of existing homes and the continuing downward trend of foreclosure starts and completions. But the economy still has a ways to go and officials caution that more work needs to be done as the economy recovers from the Great Recession, the Obama Administration said in the July housing scorecard from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Utimately, July’s news turned out to be much of the same, falling in line with the past several scorecards.
“The market indicators for the housing market recovery were mixed in July as foreclosure filings continue to improve, but home sales, particularly for new homes, showed unexpected weakness,” said HUD Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research Katherine O’Regan.
“Home prices, while still increasing, are doing so at slower rates. Indications are that continued improvements in the economy, such as the July employment report which marked the sixth straight month that more than 200,000 jobs have been added, along with slowly easing mortgage credit, will keep the U.S. housing market on the path to recovery,” O’Regan said.
Home Prices increased to 170.6 in May, up from 168.7 in April, according to the S&P Case-Shiller home price index. Year-over-year the index is up from 156.1 in May 2013.
Existing homes sales grew to 420,000 in June from 409,200 in May, but is down from 430,000 for the same period a year prior, the latest data from the National Association of Realtors said.
Furthermore, new home sales climbed to 33,800 in June, down from 36,800 in May and 38,300 in June 2013, the U.S. Census Bureau and HUD posted.
According to NAR, the supply of existing-homes for sale inched up, with inventory remained unchanged at a 5.5-month supply in June and is up from a 5-month supply a year prior.
In comparison, the supply of new homes for sale jumped to a 5.8-month supply in June, from a 5.2-month supply in May, the Census Bureau and HUD said. This is significantly up from a 4.2-month supply a year ago.
Foreclosure starts continued to improve and fell to 47,200 in June, from 49,200 in May, RealtyTrac’s most recent report said.
Mortgage delinquency rates for prime borrowers marginally remained frozen at 2.8% in June, Black Knight Financial Services announced.
