WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 5, 2016) – (RealEstateRama) — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Treasury released the July Housing Scorecard earlier this month. The report says higher sales of new and previously owned homes, a lower mortgage rate, and higher home prices show that the housing market recovery is continuing.
The report states that new single-family home sales rose by 3.5 percent in June to 592,000, the highest pace since February 2008. Previously owned (existing) home sales also rose by 1.1 percent to 5.57 million, the fastest pace since February 2007. According to the report, new home sales were 25 percent higher than last year and existing home sales were up 3 percent.
According to the report, the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage rate hit 3.41 percent in July, down from 3.97 percent at the start of the year and the lowest it has been since the beginning of May 2013, when it was 3.35 percent.
The report also reveals that the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s seasonally adjusted purchase-only house price index rose 0.2 percent between April and May and was 5.6 percent higher than the rate a year ago.
Overall, the Scorecard reports progress, yet states the need to continue fostering the housing market by boosting home sales, helping underwater homeowners, and reducing elevated mortgage delinquency rates.
