• Existing home sales fell to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 4.07 million in July, down 2.2% from June and down 16.6% from July 2022, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
• Total housing inventory at the end of July amounted to 1.11 million units, NAR said, totaling 3.3 months of supply at the current sales pace.
• The median existing-home price for all housing types in July was $406,700, up 1.9% from July 2022.

What happened: Existing home sales dropped again in July, while inventory ticked up slightly, amid rising borrowing costs.

What Zillow Senior Economist Jeff Tucker thinks: July often marks the turning point of the housing market’s seasons, where the spring homebuying season gives way to the doldrums of summer, and this year was no exception. Even in seasonally-adjusted terms, sales fell. Ever-higher mortgage costs are discouraging buyers, thanks to the double whammy of higher interest rates and higher home sale prices this summer. Buyers also might be tired of scrolling through the same handful of listings on the market, thanks to precious few new listings coming to market. Newly-built homes present an ever larger share of options for determined buyers, and builders have been offering interest rate buydowns to sweeten the pot.