Existing-home sales faded 5.4% in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.89 million. Sales also slumped 5.4% from one year ago
The median existing-home sales price bounced 4.1% from June 2023 to $426,900 – the second straight month it reached an all-time high and the twelfth consecutive month of year-over-year price gains
The inventory of unsold existing homes rose 3.1% from the previous month to 1.32 million at the end of June, or the equivalent of 4.1 months’ supply at the current monthly sales pace
Existing-home sales fell in June as the median sales price climbed to the highest price ever recorded for the second consecutive month, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. All four major U.S. regions posted sales declines. Year-over-year, sales waned in the Northeast, Midwest and South but were unchanged in the West.
Total existing-home sales1 – completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – receded 5.4% from May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.89 million in June. Year-over-year, sales also dropped 5.4% (down from 4.11 million in June 2023).
“We’re seeing a slow shift from a seller’s market to a buyer’s market,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Homes are sitting on the market a bit longer, and sellers are receiving fewer offers. More buyers are insisting on home inspections and appraisals, and inventory is definitively rising on a national basis.”
Total housing inventory2 registered at the end of June was 1.32 million units, up 3.1% from May and 23.4% from one year ago (1.07 million). Unsold inventory sits at a 4.1-month supply at the current sales pace, up from 3.7 months in May and 3.1 months in June 2023. The last time unsold inventory posted a four-month supply was May 2020 (4.5 months).
The median existing-home price3 for all housing types in June was $426,900, an all-time high and an increase of 4.1% from one year ago ($410,100). All four U.S. regions registered price gains.
“Even as the median home price reached a new record high, further large accelerations are unlikely,” Yun added. “Supply and demand dynamics are nearing a balanced market condition. The months supply of inventory reached its highest level in more than four years.”
REALTORS® Confidence Index
According to the monthly REALTORS® Confidence Index, properties typically remained on the market for 22 days in June, down from 24 days in May but up from 18 days in June 2023.
First-time buyers were responsible for 29% of sales in June, down from 31% in May but up from 27% in June 2023. NAR’s 2023 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers – released in November 20234 – found that the annual share of first-time buyers was 32%.
All-cash sales accounted for 28% of transactions in June, unchanged from May and up from 26% one year ago.
Individual investors or second-home buyers, who make up many cash sales, purchased 16% of homes in June, identical to May and down from 18% in June 2023.
Distressed sales5 – foreclosures and short sales – represented 2% of sales in June, unchanged from last month and the previous year.
Mortgage Rates
According to Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage(link is external) averaged 6.77% as of July 18. That’s down from 6.89% one week ago and 6.78% one year ago.
Single-family and Condo/Co-op Sales
Single-family home sales retracted to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.52 million in June, down 5.1% from 3.71 million in May and 4.3% from the prior year. The median existing single-family home price was $432,700 in June, up 4.1% from June 2023.
Existing condominium and co-op sales tumbled 7.5% in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 370,000 units, down 14% from one year ago (430,000 units). The median existing condo price was $371,700 in June, up 2.6% from the previous year ($362,200).
Regional Breakdown
Existing-home sales in the Northeast in June withdrew 2.1% from May to an annual rate of 470,000, a decline of 6% from June 2023. The median price in the Northeast was $521,500, up 9.7% from one year earlier.
In the Midwest, existing-home sales decreased 8% from one month ago to an annual rate of 920,000 in June, down 6.1% from the prior year. The median price in the Midwest was $327,100, up 5.5% from June 2023.
Existing-home sales in the South slid 5.9% from May to an annual rate of 1.76 million in June, down 6.9% from one year before. The median price in the South was $373,000, up 1.7% from last year.
In the West, existing-home sales declined 2.6% in June to an annual rate of 740,000, identical to a year ago. The median price in the West was $629,800, up 3.5% from June 2023.
Source: National Association of Realtors