Area sales of existing, new houses rise in July

Sales of both new and existing homes in the Wichita area climbed in July, according to a South Central Kansas Multiple Listing Service report released Thursday.

The report said 899 existing homes were sold last month, compared with 861 in July 2013.

Sales of new homes rose to 55 in July, up from 49 in the same month a year ago.

Housing inventories remained low in July.

The report said the inventory of existing homes was 3.4 months, while the inventory of new homes was 4.8 months. When the supply of houses is below five months, the market is considered a seller’s market

This story was originally published August 14, 2014 at 5:32 PM with the headline "Area sales of existing, new houses rise in July."