For the first time in history last month, the median property price of existing homes in the U.S. surpassed $300,000, powered by relentless demand and surging home sales, according to a report Friday from the National Association of Realtors [NAR].
The median existing-home pricefor all housing types reached $304,100 in July, up 8.5% from the same time last year when it stood at $280,400, the report said.
The latest increase marked the 101st consecutive month of year-over-year nationwide gains.
“Homebuyers’ eagerness to secure housing has helped rejuvenate our nation’s economy despite incredibly difficult circumstances,” NAR President Vince Malta, broker at Malta & Co., Inc., in San Francisco, said in the report.
The number of existing home sales continued its record-breaking upward swing in July, following on from an almost equally busy June.
Total transactions of existing homes—including single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops—soared 24.7% from June to 5.86 million in July. The record was last set in June, when monthly sales leapt 20.7%, according to the report.
Sales rose year-over-year, too, up 8.7% from last July.
“The housing market is well past the recovery phase and is now booming with higher home sales compared to the pre-pandemic days,” Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said in the report. “With the sizable shift in remote work, current homeowners are looking for larger homes and this will lead to a secondary level of demand even into 2021.”
Hindering any further sales is a significant lack of supply.
Total housing stock at the end of July fell 21.1% from a year ago. “The number of new listings is increasing, but they are quickly taken out of the market from heavy buyer competition,” Mr. Yun said. “More homes need to be built.”