WASHINGTON, Aug 25: US sales of existing homes rose in July to a five-month high but the glut of unsold homes hit a record high, according to industry data on Monday that suggests the housing market remains in crisis.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported sales of existing homes and apartments increased 3.1 per cent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.00 million units in July from a downwardly revised level of 4.85 million in June.

The report was better than analysts’ forecast of a sales pace of 4.90 million units.

On a 12-month basis, July sales of homes and apartments fell 13.2 per cent, underscoring the deep woes of the real estate market.

The median existing-home price for all housing types was $212,400 in July, down 7.1 per cent from a year ago.

However, analysts pointed out that the modest monthly gain in sales benefited from fire-sale prices from foreclosures and the glut of unsold homes means that recovery in the housing market, at the epicentre of US economic woes, remains out of sight.

The small rise in monthly sales “is a reflection of increased sales of foreclosed homes at very low prices, rather than a pick-up in the regular private sales market.—AFP