U.S. existing home sales rise 1.4% in June, gold price edges up

Gold & Silver

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(Kitco News) Gold edged up after the U.S. existing home sales rose 1.4% in June, coming in slightly below market expectations but marking the end to four consecutive monthly declines.

Existing home sales rose to a seasonally adjusted and annualized rate of 5.86 million units last month, compared to May’s annualized rate of 5.78 million homes, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said on Tuesday. Market consensus projections were calling for existing home sales to rise to 5.9 million.

On an annual basis, June’s existing sales were up 22.9%.

June’s increase was largely due to slightly better supply, according to the report.

“Supply has modestly improved in recent months due to more housing starts and existing homeowners listing their homes, all of which has resulted in an uptick in sales,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “Home sales continue to run at a pace above the rate seen before the pandemic.”

Gold prices ticked back up above $1,800 an ounce following the data release. August Comex gold futures were last trading at $1,802.70, down 0.04% on the day.

The median price for all home types hit a new record high of $363,300 in June, rising 23.4% from a year ago. This marked the 112th straight month of year-over-year gains.

The total inventory was at 1.25 million units, up 18.8% from last year’s total.

“At a broad level, home prices are in no danger of a decline due to tight inventory conditions, but I do expect prices to appreciate at a slower pace by the end of the year,” Yun said. “Ideally, the costs for a home would rise roughly in line with income growth, which is likely to happen in 2022 as more listings and new construction become available.”

Live 24 hours gold chart [Kitco Inc.]

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