According to the National Association of Realtors, sales of previously owned homes rose to their highest level of the year in July. Existing-home sales – which include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops – increased 2.4 percent from the month before. It was the fourth consecutive month of improvement. Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said sales momentum is slowly building behind stronger job growth and improving inventory conditions. Yun believes more people are buying homes compared to earlier in the year because the number of homes available for sale is rising and price increases are moderating. Because of this, prospective home buyers feel more comfortable entering the market. Yun expects sales to continue trending upward, especially since rent continues to increase and mortgage rates remain near historic lows. Also in the report, the median existing-home price was $220,900 in July, that’s 4.9 percent above last year. Total housing inventory was up 3.5 percent at the end of the month. Unsold inventory is now 5.8 percent higher than one year ago. More here.