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Existing home sales continue downward trend in June

Home prices rise near record high, single-family home sales fall for fourth straight month

Existing home sales dipped again in June, falling to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.16 million units, according to the latest report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

Resales remain down substantially year over year, with June’s existing home sales trailing May’s figure by 3.3% and June 2022’s total by 18.9%. The backtrack essentially erased the May’s moderate gain, keeping existing home sales on a downward trend in the first half of 2022.

Single-family home sales dropped again, falling 3.4% from May and 18.8% from last June to a pace of 3.72 units annualized. June marked the fourth straight month in which single-family home sales receded. Condo and co-op sales decreased in June as well, down 2.2% month over month and 20.0% year over year.

“The first half of the year was a downer for sure with sales lower by 23%,” said Lawrence Yun, the NAR’s chief economist. “Fewer Americans were on the move despite the usual life-changing circumstances. The pent-up demand will surely be realized soon, especially if mortgage rates and inventory move favorably.”

Existing home sales activity continues to be held back by the dearth of homes for sale. Total housing inventory was at 1.08 million units at the end of June — unchanged from May and down 13.6% from one year prior. Put another way, there were 1.25 million fewer existing homes in June than there were in the same month last year.

“There are simply not enough homes for sale,” Yun added. “The market can easily absorb a doubling of inventory.”

Unsold inventory sits at a 3.1-month supply at the current sales pace, up from 3.0 months in May and 2.9 months in June 2022.

With resale listings at such a paucity, competition for the short supply of homes on the market is driving home prices sharply upward. The median existing home price for all housing types in June was $410,200, the second highest price ever recorded by the NAR. (The record high of $413,800, coincidentally, was set in June 2022.) And homes continue to sell fast: properties stayed on the market for 18 days in June, unchanged from the previous month. Seventy-six percent of homes remained on the market for less than a month.

“Home sales fell but home prices have held firm in most parts of the country,” Yun said. “The national median home price in June was slightly less than the record high of nearly $414,000 in June of last year. Limited supply is still leading to multiple-offer situations, with one-third of homes getting sold above the list price in the latest month.”

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