RealtyTrac’s U.S. Home Sales Report for July indicates a continued strengthening of the housing market’s recovery, with sales of homes in foreclosure dropping to an all-time low for the report.
The RealtyTrac July 2015 U.S. Home Sales Report shows that sales of properties in-foreclosure and cash sales were down from a year ago to multi-year lows, while year-to-date U.S. home sales in 2015 are at an eight-year high, and the U.S. median home price in July was at an 82-month high.
The sale of properties sold while in the foreclosure process (not including bank-owned properties) accounted for 6.4% of all single family and condo sales in July, down from 6.6% of all sales in June and down from 8.0% in July 2014 to the lowest monthly share since January 2000 – the earliest that data is available.
All-cash buyers accounted for 22.6% of all single family home and condo sales in July, down from 23.7% of all sales in the previous month and down from 26.5% of all sales in July 2014 to the lowest percentage of cash sales in a month since July 2008 – a 7-year low, and down from the most recent peak of 39% in February 2013 (highest going back as far as RealtyTrac has national data, January 2000).
A total of 1,344,129 single family homes and condos sold in the first six months of 2015, according to public record sales deeds collected by RealtyTrac, the highest number of sales in the first half of any year since 2007.
The U.S. median home sales price in July was $189,500, up 2% from the previous month and up 2% from a year ago to the highest level since September 2008.
Out of 161 markets analyzed for home sales prices (excluding non-disclosure states), 10 metros (6%) reached new home price peaks in July, and 20 percent of the 161 metro areas analyzed have hit new home price peaks in 2014 or 2015.
