[ferro-alloys.com]Surging demand since June has tightened housing inventory in the US market and has necessitated increased new home construction as consumer needs shift in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the National Association of Realtors said Aug. 21.

"The number of new listings is increasing, but they are quickly taken out of the market from heavy buyer competition," NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a report. "More homes need to be built."

Total US existing-home sales in July reached a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 5.86 million units, jumping 24.7% from June and 8.7% year over year. The 24.7% hike from June represented the highest monthly increase in sales on record, the NAR said.

The NAR said higher sales in July continued the upward trajectory from June following a three-month market slump between March and May. June sales rose 20.7% month over month to an SAAR of 4.72 million units.

Yun said new trends associated with the pandemic, such as remote work, have spurred current homeowners to enter the market and have contributed to demand recovery.

"The housing market is well past the recovery phase and is now booming with higher home sales compared to the pre-pandemic days," Yun said. "With the sizable shift in remote work, current homeowners are looking for larger homes, and this will lead to a secondary level of demand even into 2021."

Total housing inventory at the end of July totaled 1.50 million units, down 2.6% from June and 21.1% from July 2019, according to the association.

Existing-home sales in July significantly increased from June in all four of the NAR's major market regions, with the largest gain recorded in the Northeast region.

US privately-owned housing starts rose to an SAAR 1.496 million units in July, up 23.4% from the same month last year, according to data from the US Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development released Aug. 18.

(S&P Global Platts)

• [Editor:王可]