Existing home sales on the local, state and national levels declined in July thanks to a shortage of available properties and rising prices. Jim Letizia reports.
The National Association of Realtors says existing homes sales fell 3.2 percent in July from June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.39 million. The number of listings has declined by 5.8 percent from a year ago. Statewide, the Ohio Association of Realtors says existing home sales fell 2.7 percent in July from June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of nearly 147 thousand. The Columbus Realtors trade association reports a 5.5 percent decrease in sales in July from the previous month in its multi-county region. 3 thousand central Ohio homes were sold in July. The median sale price of an existing home in the U.S. was 244 thousand dollars in July, up 5.3 percent from a year ago. The statewide average price was 173 thousand dollars, down from 178 thousand in June. The average regional price was nearly 214 thousand, down by 1.2 percent from June.