July 2019
In July, the U.S. economic expansion that began in June 2009 became the longest in
the nation's history, marking 121 straight months of gross domestic product growth
and surpassing the 120-month expansion from 1991 to 2001. The average rate of
growth during this expansion has been a milder 2.3 percent per year compared to
3.6 percent during the 1990s. Although the economy should continue to perform
well for the rest of 2019, most economists see a mild recession on the horizon.
New Listings were up 13.1 percent to 1,785. Pending Sales increased 13.8 percent
to 1,482, the seventh consecutive month of year-over-year gains. Inventory grew 5.0
percent to 3,412 units.
Prices moved higher as Median Sales Price was up 9.8 percent to $187,000. Days
on Market decreased 3.9 percent to 49 days. Months Supply of Inventory remained
flat at 2.9, indicating a stabilizing supply-demand balance.
During the record-setting 121-month economic expansion, the unemployment rate
has dropped from 10.0 percent in 2009 to 3.7 percent, yet many consumers
continue to struggle financially. Low mortgage interest rates have helped offset low
housing affordability, but high home prices are outpacing median household income
growth. In a move to stoke continued economic prosperity, the Federal Reserve
reduced the benchmark interest rate by a quarter point to about 2.25 percent,
marking the first reduction in more than a decade.
Information courtesy of CMLS*
