When the coronavirus outbreak began in March, optimistic analysts predicted the housing market would begin to rebound in the fall. But, according to new numbers from the National Association of Realtors, the recovery is far ahead of schedule. In fact, the recently released numbers show sales of previously owned homes had a record setting month in June. Overall, completed sales of single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops were up 20.7 percent month over month. Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, says the recovery has been strong and looks to be sustainable. “The sales recovery is strong, as buyers were eager to purchase homes and properties that they had been eyeing during the shutdown,” Yun said. “This revitalization looks to be sustainable for many months ahead as long as mortgage rates remain low and job gains continue.” The rebound was strongest in the West and South, though the Midwest and Northeast also saw significant month-over-month improvement. But while the quickness and strength of the recovery has been encouraging, sales are still down from last year – with overall transactions 11.3 percent below where they were in June 2019.
