As rising mortgage rates and higher home prices weighed on housing affordability, existing home sales declined for five consecutive months, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The trend in home price appreciation continued albeit at a slower rate as supply finally showed sign of improvement. The median existing home prices in June continued to surpass $400,000, the highest level on record since 1999.
Total existing home sales, including single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, fell 5.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.12 million in June, the lowest level since June 2020. On a year-over-year basis, sales were 14.2% lower than a year ago.
The first-time buyer share rose to 30% in June, up from 27% in May and down from 31% a year ago. The June inventory level increased from 1.15 to 1.26 million units and was up from 1.23 million units a year ago.
At the current sales rate, June unsold inventory sits at a 3.0-month supply, up from 2.6-months last month and 2.5-months a year ago.
Homes stayed on the market for an average of just 14 days in June, down from 16 days in May 2022 and 17 days in June 2021. In June, 88% of homes sold were on the market for less than a month.
The June all-cash sales share was 25% of transactions, the same share as last month and up from 23% a year ago.
Tight supply continues to push up home prices. The June median sales price of all existing homes was $416,000, up 13.4% from a year ago, representing the 124th consecutive month of year-over-year increases, the longest-running streak on record. The median existing condominium/co-op price of $354,900 in June was up 11.5% from a year ago.
Geographically, three regions saw a decline in existing home sales in June, ranging from 1.6% in the Midwest to 11.1% in the West. Sales in the Northeast remained unchanged in June. On a year-over-year basis, sales in all four regions decreased in June, ranging from 9.6% in the Midwest to 21.3% in the West.
Meanwhile, the Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) is a forward-looking indicator based on signed contracts. The PHSI rose 0.7% from 99.2 to 99.9 in May, ending a six-month streak of declines. On a year-over-year basis, sales were 13.6% lower than a year ago per the NAR data.
