Home sales surged 7 percent in July, the strongest annual gain seen so far this year, according to the Zillow July Market Report. Newly pending listings are up 0.3 percent year-over-year, suggesting the pipeline of future sales is running dry. Unless they reverse course, mortgage rates will be higher than last year in August, likely enough to push the typical mortgage payment above year-ago levels. The monthly mortgage payment on a typical home is $1,888, assuming a 20 percent down payment and excluding taxes and insurance. On the sales side, 382,898 homes were sold in July, according to the preliminary Zillow sales count nowcast.