Existing Home Sales Fall in June Amid Record Prices

Existing home sales experienced a 2.4% month-over-month decline in June, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.09 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). This decrease is attributed to persistently high mortgage rates impacting buyer activity. Despite the monthly dip, sales were still 2.8% higher than in June of the previous year. Sales activity saw an increase only in the Northeast region, with the Midwest, South, and West reporting declines. Lawrence Yun, NAR Chief Economist, noted that home buyers are highly sensitive to affordability conditions, with fluctuations in mortgage rates directly influencing their decisions. However, he also pointed to strong job gains, exceeding half a million since the start of the year, as a supportive factor for the housing market.

Housing inventory at the end of June stood at 1.56 million units, a slight decrease of 0.6% from May but a 1.3% increase compared to the same period last year. This inventory level represents a 4.6-month supply of unsold homes, a marginal increase from 4.5 months in May and unchanged from June 2025. Concurrently, the median existing home sales price climbed to a new record of $440,600, an 1.8% rise from the $432,700 median price recorded a year prior. This marks the 36th consecutive month of year-over-year price increases.

Yun highlighted that despite the record median home price, affordability has improved compared to the previous year, as wage growth has outpaced home price appreciation. He cautioned, however, that stalled inventory growth could hinder long-term affordability progress and potentially accelerate price increases. Yun emphasized the critical need to increase housing supply to broaden homeownership opportunities. The Housing Affordability Index saw an improvement, rising to 102.3 from 95.5 a year earlier, with affordability gains reported across all regions. Sales of single-family homes continued to outperform condominium sales.