Meanwhile, housing starts rose to 3,485 from 2,397 a year earlier, according to Atlanta Agent’s July Housing Scorecard.

The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development reported that the median sales price slid to $361,800 from $380,700 in May.

At the same time, the median existing-home price for all housing types in May was up 23.4% on an annual basis, as every region in the country registered price increases.

Meanwhile, the seasonally adjusted purchase index declined 6% from the previous week, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported.

Privately owned housing units authorized by building permits in June came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of
1,598,000, down 5.1 % from the revised May rate of 1,683,000, but 23.3% above the year-ago rate of 1,296,000.

July’s reading of 80 was down one point from June, but still signaled strong demand for housing, the National Association of Home Builders said.

During the four-week period ended July 11, the average weekly share of homes for sale with a price drop passed 4% for the first time since September 2020.

Meanwhile, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted purchase index rose 8% from the previous week.

Sales volume rose 10.8% month over month to $3.46 billion, while the number of units sold rose 8.2% over the same period, to 8,230.

Strong growth of single-family construction spending drove the increase, while spending on multifamily construction was flat, the National Association of Home Builders said.

The median age of construction workers is 41, the same as a typical worker in the national labor force, according to the National Association of Home Builders’ analysis of the most recent 2019 American Community Survey data.

“May’s strong increase in transactions — following April’s decline, as well as a sudden erosion in home affordability — was indeed a surprise. The housing market is attracting buyers due to the decline in mortgage rates, which fell below 3%, and from an uptick in listings.” — NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun

In Atlanta, the index rose 1.7% month over month and 12.3% year over year. The monthly increase was slightly down from the 1.8% rise recorded in March.

The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of May was 330,000, representing a supply of 5.1 months at the current sales rate, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development reported. 

The median existing-home price for all housing types rose to $350,300 in May, marking another new record. 

On a year-over-year basis, new-home mortgage applications were down 5.9% in May, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported, citing its Builder Application Survey.