The National Association of Realtors reported that sales of existing homes fell 2.2% in July to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 4.07M, down (-16.6%) as compared to July 2022. “Two factors are driving current sales activity – inventory availability and mortgage rates,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Unfortunately, both have been unfavorable to buyers.” Sales of single-family homes slid 1.9% to a 3.65M annual rate (-16.6% Y/Y) and existing condo sales decreased to a 420K annual rate (-19.2% Y/Y). Total housing inventory was up at 1.11K (-14.6% Y/Y). Properties typically remained on the market for 20 days, up slightly from 18 days in June. Unsold inventory reported in at a 3.3-month run rate, up from 3.1 in June and slightly up from 3.2 months from July 2022. Seventy-four percent of homes sold in July were on the market for less than a month. The median sales price increased to $406,700 (+1.9% Y/Y). The median existing single-family home price was $412,300 in July (+1.6% Y/Y) while the median existing condo price was $357,600 (+4.5% Y/Y). Regionally they all saw a decrease from the previous year Northeast (-23.8%), Midwest (-20.0%), South (-14.3%), and the West (-12.5%).

The U.S. Census Bureau reported new home sales increased in July to 4.4% above the revised number in June. The new home sales in June were revised to 684,000. July’s seasonally adjusted rate is 714,000 units. Sales increased in the West (21.5%) and Midwest (47.4%), while it decreased in the Northeast (-2.9%) and South (-6.3%). The regional year-over-year figures show an increase across all the regions West (60.2%), Midwest (58.5%), the Northeast (43.5%), and South (17.5%). The median new house price is 4.8% higher than last year at $436,700, the average sale price was $513,000. There were 437,000 new homes for sale at the end of July, up from 428,000 units in June. Houses under construction made up roughly 46.8% of the July new home sales, with homes not started accounting for 13.0%, and completed homes accounting for about 40.2%.

The US Energy Information Administration reported that US commercial crude oil inventories decreased by 6.1M barrels to 433.5M barrels (2% below the five-year average) for the week ending August 18th. Crude oil refinery inputs averaged 16.8M barrels per day, an increase of 30K barrels per day as compared to the previous week’s average. Gasoline inventories increased by 1.7M barrels (5% below the five-year average), and distillate inventories increased by 0.9M barrels (16% below the five-year average). Refineries operated at 94.5% of their operable capacity, as gasoline production increased to an average of 9.7M barrels per day. Crude oil imports came in at 6.9M barrels per day, a decrease of 225K barrels per day as compared to the previous week. Crude oil imports averaged about 6.9M barrels per day over the last four weeks, 6.3% more than the same period last year. Total commercial petroleum inventories decreased by 3.0M barrels last week.