The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced Tuesday that new residential sales have increased in the month of July with 708,000 new houses sold.

The monthly report showed the seasonally adjusted rate is 27.2% below the July 2020 estimate of 972,000.

This marks an increase of roughly 7,000 homes since June and the first increase in new home sales after a steady drop beginning in April, when sales fell from 873,000 in March to 796,000 in April.

There are currently 367,000 new houses for sale with a median sales price of $390,500 with the average sale price for a new home at $446,000. The average house is spending roughly six months on the market before being sold.

The non-seasonally adjusted rate for the year-to-date is 493,000 in 2021 compared to 461,000 from a year ago. New privately owned houses sold in the month of July fell to 63,000 in 2021 compared to 85,000 in 2020.

The peak of new privately owned houses sold in 2021 was 83,000 in March and has gradually declined since then.

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