The National Association of REALTORS® reported on Wednesday that June Existing Home Sales hit their highest pace in over eight years due to rising demand and limited supply. Sales rose to 5.49 million, above the 5.40 million expected and up 3.2% from May. Year-over-year, sales are up 9.6% and have increased annually for nine consecutive months. In addition, the median price for an Existing Home in June rose to $236,400, 6.5% above last year and above the peak price set in July of 2006.
The National Retail Federation (NRF) cut its retail sales forecast for 2015 to 3.5% from the February forecast of 4.1%, citing an unexpected slowdown in growth the first half of this year. The NRF also expects back-to-school sales to be lower this year, as it forecasts the average family will spend $630 this year as opposed to $669 last year. However, growth should pick up the second half of this year, which should offset the slowdown that occurred in the first half.
iPhones flew off the shelves over the last three months, as reported by Apple in its latest quarterly earnings report. Apple sold a whopping 47.5 million iPhones in its third quarter, and while it was a record, it was below the 50 million that was expected. Apple reported revenues of $49.6 billion with earnings per share of $1.85, above the expectations of $1.81 billion. The iPad saw sales of 10.9 million units, down from 13.3 million in the same period last year.
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