In July, the U.S. economic expansion that began in June 2009 became the longest in the nation’s history, marking 121 
straight months of gross domestic product growth and surpassing the 120-month expansion from 1991 to 2001. The average rate of growth during this expansion has been a milder 2.3% per year compared to 3.6% during the 1990s. Although the economy should continue to perform well for the rest of 2019, most economists see a mild recession on the horizon.
• Single Family Closed Sales were down 1.6% to 8,485.
• Townhouse-Condo Closed Sales were down 6.2% to 2,212.
• Adult Communities Closed Sales were up 3.9% to 749.
• Single Family Median Sales Price increased 3.4% to $351,500.
• Townhouse-Condo Median Sales Price increased 4.8% to $283,000.
• Adult Communities Median Sales Price increased 4.8% to $220,000.
During the record-setting 121-month economic expansion, the unemployment rate has dropped from 10.0% in 2009 to 3.7%, yet many consumers continue to struggle financially. Low mortgage interest rates have helped offset low housing affordability, but high home prices are outpacing median household income growth. In a move to stoke continued economic prosperity, the Federal Reserve reduced the benchmark interest rate by a quarter point to about 2.25%, marking the first reduction in more than a decade.