Existing-home prices rise again, but just barely

Existing-home sales remain slow even as home prices keep setting records. The median home sale price for July 2025 rose slightly to $422,400, the highest median price on record for the month of July. Meanwhile, home sales rose to an annual pace of 4.01 million, reflecting slow sales since mortgage rates spiked in 2022, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports.

NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said the slowdown in home-price appreciation reflects a rise in inventory — the number of homes for sale rose to its highest level in five years. Modest appreciation means that property values are falling in some places, and a small decline in values could loom in the near future. “On a nationwide basis, we may have a single-digit price decline. That’s quite possible,” Yun said.

While Yun is hoping for mortgage rates to fall, he said he doesn’t expect them to dip much below 6 percent. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose from a low of 6.2 percent in September 2024 to above 7 percent in early 2025. It stood at 6.62 percent as of Aug. 20, according to Bankrate’s weekly survey of large lenders.

With home prices historically high, affordability challenges remain daunting for homebuyers. Lower mortgage rates would relieve some of that pain. But lower rates could also lure more buyers into the market, further fueling prices.

“The fate of the housing market in the coming months will be dictated in part by the direction of mortgage rates, as well as the health of the broader economy,” says Mark Hamrick, Bankrate’s senior economic analyst. “The market could benefit from a combination of tailwinds, if they were to develop and are sustained.”

Existing-home sales down from last month, even with last year

The count of existing-home sales incorporates all completed resales, including single-family houses, condos, townhouses and co-ops. According to NAR, the number of sales nationally rose from the previous month to an annual pace of 4.01 million transactions in July.

In July, existing-home sales in the Northeast rose to an annual rate of 500,000, up 2 percent from a year ago. In the Midwest, sales rose to an annual rate of 940,000, up 1.1 percent from a year ago.

Existing-home sales in the South reached an annual rate of 1.85 million, up 2.2 percent from last year. In the West, sales were at an annual rate of 720,000, down 4 percent from a year ago.

Days on market

Properties typically stayed on the market for 28 days in July — up from 27 in June and up from just 24 days in July 2024. Selling times are a crucial measure at any time of year, but especially during the peak spring and summer selling seasons.

Home prices edge past last year’s record

The nationwide median sale price for existing homes in July was $422,400 — a record high for the month, and just below last month’s all-time high of $432,700. This marks 25 consecutive months of year-over-year price increases.

Regionally, prices were mixed. July’s median price in the Northeast was $509,300, a 0.8 percent increase from a year ago. The median in the Midwest was $333,800, up 3.9 percent year-over-year.

In the South, the median was $367,400, down 0.6 percent from last year. And the West, while it continues to have the highest median price by far at $620,700, was still down 1 .4 percent from July 2024.

First-time homebuyers made up 28 percent of sales in July, down from 30 percent in June but an improvement over the all-time low of 26 percent in August and September of last year. Cash sales accounted for 31 percent of transactions in July, up from 29 percent in May.

Supply again improves year-over-year

The inventory of unsold existing homes increased 0.6 percent from the previous month to 1.55 million at the end of July, or the equivalent of 4.6 months’ supply at the current monthly sales pace. That’s a healthy 15.7 percent increase from a year ago. But, while buyers are gaining bargaining power, inventory still remains a bit below the 5 or 6 months typically considered the mark of a balanced market.