The pace of home sales increased 1.3% from June after months of decreases, the National Association of REALTORS® said.      

The combination of rising inventory and price reductions in Chicago and nationwide is creating a more buyer-friendly market.

The National Association of REALTORS® said its Pending Home Sales Index rose 4.8% month over month. 

The record-breaking sales price comes as the pace of transactions slid from April, the National Association of REALTORS® said. 

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index has hit a new record for six of the last 12 months, as demand remains strong in the face of tight inventory.

At the same time, the median price of a new home sold in April declined as well. 

New-home construction jumped 5.7% month over month after a soft March, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. 

Sales rose 9.5% from January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.38 million.

The median existing-home price for all housing types was $379,100, up 5.1% from $360,800 a year before.       

Single-family home sales prices increased in 189 out of 221 metro areas analyzed, with the median single-family price in the country rising 3.5% year over year to $391,700.

Pending home sales rose 8.3% month over month, the National Association of REALTORS® said, marking the largest monthly jump since 2020. 

Declining interest rates spurred the increase. 

At the same time, the median sales price rose 4.4% to $382,600. 

The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) rose seven points to 44, its second monthly increase in a row. 

CoreLogic expects prices to continue to grow through the year.

The only region of the U.S. that didn’t experience an annual decline in existing home sales was the Midwest, where sales were unchanged year over year.