U.S. home-sale prices rose for the fourth consecutive month in July, growing 3.3% year over year to a median of $318,100, according to a new report from Redfin.

Home sales fell for the second month in a row, by 3.4% year over year. The number of homes for sale fell 3.4% annually at the end of July, the first decline in a year.

"July home prices and sales were weaker than I had expected, especially given that falling mortgage rates have been luring home buyers back to the market since early spring," said Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather. "Even though we've seen increased interest from home buyers—especially compared to a year ago when mortgage rates were climbing—uncertainties in the overall economy and talk of a looming recession have people feeling jittery about making a huge purchase and investment. But I think the odds are that we won't see a recession within the next year. If rates stay low and the economy continues to grow, we'll see more home buyers come back in a serious way in 2020, and the market will be much more competitive."

Market Summary July 2019 Month-Over-Month Year-Over-Year
Median sale price $318,100 -0.7% 3.3%
Homes sold, seasonally-adjusted 258,300 -1% -3.4%
New listings, seasonally-adjusted 314,400 -0.5% -2.9%
All Homes for sale 868,800 -4.2% -3.4%
Median days on market 38 1 2
Months of supply 2.8 -0.1 -0.1
Sold above list 23.9% -1% -3.2%
Median Off-Market Redfin Estimate $300,100 0% 6%
Average Sale-to-list 98.5% -0.2% 0.5%

Just seven of the 85 largest metro areas Redfin tracks saw a year-over-year decline in their median sale price, the biggest of which was in Bridgeport, CT, where home prices were down 6.2% from a year earlier. San Jose (-3.3%), New York(-3.1%), Oakland, CA (-2.6%), Seattle, WA (-1.7%), New Haven, CT (-0.9%) and San Diego (-0.2%) rounded out the list of metro areas with price drops.

A majority of the metro areas tracked by Redfin saw declining home sales compared to July a year ago. The metro areas with the largest declines in sales were Miami, FL (-22.9%), Detroit, MI (-18.9%) and New York, NY (-13.9%). 28 of the 85 metros tracked by Redfin saw an increase in the number of homes for sale compared to a year earlier.

The three metro areas with the biggest increases in the number of homes for sale were spread all across the country and all have home prices well above the national median: Oxnard, CA (+22.4%), Boston, MA (+18.1%) and Honolulu, HI (+17.4%). The biggest declines in the number of homes for sale were in New Orleans, LA (-28.3%), Rochester, NY (-27.9%) and Tulsa, OK (-22.5%), all metros with home prices significantly below the national median price.

Measures of competition in the national housing market indicated a moderate cooling trend in July. The speed at which homes went off the market slowed slightly, to a median 38 days, up from 36 a year earlier. The share of homes sold above list price was 23.9% in July, down from 27.1% a year earlier. Additionally, 28.1% of homes listed for sale had a price drop in July, up from 26.3% in July 2018. This is the second-highest rate of price drops on record, only surpassed by the 29.6% rate last October.