Existing-home sales in June are expected to rise sharply over last year’s total, according to Auction.com’s June Real Estate Nowcast, which combines industry data, proprietary company transactional data and Google search activity to predict market trends as they are occurring.
According to Auction.com’s report, existing-home sales are projected to fall between seasonally adjusted annual rates of 5.4 and 5.74 million annual sales, with a targeted number of 5.57 million.
Those figures would represent a 4.1% increase from May and an 11.2% rise from last year at the same time.
Auction.com’s data also predicts that sales prices for existing homes will fall between $217,482 and $240,375 during the month of June, with a targeted price of $228,929. That represents a 3.1% year-over-year increase for the month.
“Improvements in the labor market and to wage growth should continue to increase owner occupier demand and start to make up for the recent retreat of investors from the market,” said Auction.com Executive Vice President Rick Sharga. “Inventory has also increased, aiding sales flow as more first-time buyers enter the market just in time for the summer buying season.”
Combined with May’s stronger existing-home data from the National Association of Realtors, Auction.com Chief Economist Peter Muoio said he believes the housing market is stabilizing.
Total existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, rose 5.1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.35 million in May from an upwardly revised 5.09 million in April, according to NAR’s data.
Sales have now increased year-over-year for eight consecutive months and are 9.2% above a year ago (4.90 million), NAR’s report stated.
NAR’s data showed the median existing-home price for all housing types in May was $228,700, which is 7.9% above May 2014. This marks the 39th consecutive month of year-over-year price gain.
“It certainly appears that the housing market is now on firmer ground, and Google search data and Auction.com data are both signaling further strengthening this month,” Muoio said. “Housing turnover is increasing, prices are strengthening and additional sellers are tip-toeing into the market. As long as the labor market continues to gain steam and confidence is not derailed, housing sales and prices could settle into a virtuous, self-reinforcing cycle.”
