Map Reveals the Winners and Losers of July’s Housing Market
Only in the Northeast, despite surging home prices, existing-home sales rose from June to July, while they plunged in the South.
The July 2023 housing market report, based on data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), reveals a complex landscape of winners and losers across various regions in the United States. The average mortgage rate, which has been hovering above 6.5 percent, has continued to climb, making existing-home sales decline last month.
A total of 4.06 million existing homes were sold in July, marking a 1.7 percent drop compared to June. Despite a modest 0.7 percent sales increase from a year earlier, the data indicates that home sales have underperformed this summer, falling short of the 2026 market renaissance experts had hoped for.
Mortgage rates averaging 6.69 percent last week, up for the fifth consecutive week, have deterred many potential buyers, leading to a slowdown in home sales. The U.S. housing market is unevenly distributed between regions experiencing significant inventory rebound during the pandemic and areas still grappling with supply shortages.
The Northeast, where demand outweighs affordability struggles, saw a 2 percent increase in existing-home sales in July, outpacing other regions. Conversely, the Midwest, known for its affordability, experienced a 2 percent decline in sales, but the region still outperforms others due to its lower median home prices.
The South, which witnessed a price correction as new homes flooded the market towards the end of the pandemic, saw a 3.1 percent decrease in existing-home sales in July, with the annual rate hitting 1.86 million. Sales remained unchanged compared to a year ago. The West, a region largely populated by remote workers, remains expensive and saw no change in existing-home sales year-over-year.
The median home price in the South was $371,700, up 0.9 percent from the previous year, while sales in the West were up 1.4 percent, with a median sale price of $622,200.
Experts such as Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, believe that the housing market would thrive if mortgage rates returned to near 6 percent levels. However, with the current market conditions, it remains uncertain whether sales will rebound this year, depending largely on the trajectory of mortgage rates.
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