A day after we got our first look at a June slowdown for California, the National Association of Realtors is out with numbers pointing to a similar sales period nationally. According to NAR, total existing-home sales receded 3.3 percent from May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.16 million in June. Year-over-year, sales fell 18.9 percent.
At $410,200, the median existing-home sales price for June was the second-highest price ever recorded, and was just 0.9 percent less than the all-time high from one year ago of $413,800.
“The first half of the year was a downer for sure with sales lower by 23%,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “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.”
At 1.08 million at the end of June, the inventory of unsold existing homes was unchanged from the previous month—equivalent of 3.1 months’ supply at the current monthly sales pace.
“There are simply not enough homes for sale,” Yun added. “The market can easily absorb a doubling of inventory.”
Properties typically remained on the market for 18 days in June, identical to May but up from 14 days in June 2022. An estimated 76 percent of homes sold in June were on the market for less than a month.
Existing-home sales in the West declined 5.1 percent from the previous month, and were down 22.7 percent from one year ago. The median price in the West was $606,500, down 3.4 percent from June 2022. In the Northeast, sales grew 2 percent from May but were down 21.5 percent from June 2022. The median price in the Northeast was $475,300, up 4.9 percent from the prior year.
In the Midwest, existing-home sales were unchanged from one month ago while down 19.5 percent from one year ago. The median price in the Midwest was $311,800, up 2.1 percent from June 2022. Existing-home sales in the South dropped 5.4 percent from May and decreased 16.2 percent from the previous year. The median price in the South was $366,600, down 1.2 percent from June 2022.