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Existing-Home Sales Slipped 1.7% in July, But Prices Keep Climbing Anyway

The National Association of Realtors reported a monthly dip in sales even as the median home price notched its 37th straight month of annual gains.

By THRYV Life Desk·Published August 13, 2026·Updated August 13, 2026·4 min read
Existing-Home Sales Slipped 1.7% in July, But Prices Keep Climbing Anyway
Home · Illustration commissioned for THRYV. Photography is replaced with original imagery as each story is produced.

The takeaway

Existing-home sales fell 1.7% in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.06 million, the National Association of Realtors reported August 11, even as they rose 0.7% from a year earlier. The median existing-home price climbed 2.0% year-over-year to $434,100 — the 37th consecutive month of annual price increases — while inventory tightened slightly to a 4.6-month supply.

Existing-home sales dropped 1.7% in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.06 million, the National Association of Realtors reported August 11. Despite the monthly decline, sales were still up 0.7% compared with July of last year.

Prices keep climbing despite the slowdown

The median existing-home price rose 2.0% year-over-year to $434,100, marking 37 consecutive months of annual price gains. Inventory fell 1.9% to 1.54 million units, holding supply at 4.6 months — still below the 5-to-6-month range generally considered balanced between buyers and sellers. Homes also sat on the market slightly longer, a median of 29 days compared with 28 days in June.

A stable market despite higher rates

Home sales have been remarkably stable, even amid the rising mortgage rate environment of the past few months.
Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist, National Association of Realtors

NAR's own tracking put the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate at 6.54% for the period, down from 6.72% a year earlier.

How the regions compared

  • Northeast: sales up 2.0% month-over-month, flat year-over-year, median price $563,800
  • Midwest: sales down 2.0% month-over-month, up 2.1% year-over-year, median price $342,900
  • South: sales down 3.1% month-over-month, flat year-over-year, median price $371,700
  • West: sales flat month-over-month, up 1.4% year-over-year, median price $622,200

Sources

This article is original writing by THRYV. We link to primary reporting and official documents rather than reproducing them.

  1. NAR Existing-Home Sales Report Shows 1.7% Decrease in July — National Association of Realtors

Why you can trust this article

Written and edited in-house by the THRYV Life Desk. We do not republish or reword agency copy, and we do not invent quotes, statistics, testimonials or ratings. Where figures move frequently, we point you to the primary release rather than printing a number that will be out of date. Advertising and affiliate partnerships have no influence on our reporting — see our editorial standards, fact-checking policy and affiliate disclosure. Spotted an error? Write to newsroom@thryv-news.com.

General information only. Not personalised financial, medical or legal advice.

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