Month-over-month, year-over-year declines show significant contraction.
'We are surely in a housing recession': Home sales plunged in July amid cooling real estate market
The Facts Inside Our Reporter’s Notebook
Home sales in July dipped sharply relative to both June and to one year ago, further indicating both a major cooling-off of the real estate market as well as potential economic turmoil in the near future.
The National Association of Realtors reported this week that "July 2022 existing-home sales were down 5.9% from June and 20.2% from one year ago, with all four major U.S. regions recording month-over-month and year-over-year declines."
"The ongoing sales decline reflects the impact of the mortgage rate peak of 6% in early June," NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a news release announcing the numbers.
"Home sales may soon stabilize since mortgage rates have fallen to near 5%, thereby giving an additional boost of purchasing power to home buyers," he added.
Elsewhere Yun painted a slightly grimmer though not apocalyptic picture of the housing market.
“In terms of economic impact we are surely in a housing recession because builders are not building,” he told CNBC. “However, are homeowners in a recession? Absolutely not. Homeowners are still very comfortable financially.”