Sales of existing homes rose in July, even with constraints of affordable inventory, and the national median price is showing five consecutive months of year-over-year increases, according to the National Association of REALTORS (NAR).
Existing-home sales, which include single-family townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, grew 2.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.47 million in July from 4.37 percent in June. July closings were 10.4 percent above the 4.05 million-unit pace in July 2011.
In the Northeast, existing-home sales rose 7.4 percent to an annual level of 580,000 in July, which is 13.7 percent above July 2011.