Current:Home > InvestU.S. home prices reach record high in June, despite deepening sales slump-LoTradeCoin
U.S. home prices reach record high in June, despite deepening sales slump
View Date:2024-12-23 23:15:58
Home prices reached an all-time high in June, even as the nation's housing slump continues with fewer people buying homes last month due to an affordability crisis.
The national median sales price rose 4.1% from a year earlier to $426,900, the highest on record going back to 1999. At the same time, sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell in June for the fourth straight month as elevated mortgage rates and record-high prices kept many would-be homebuyers on the sidelines.
Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell 5.4% last month from May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.89 million, the fourth consecutive month of declines, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said Tuesday. Existing home sales were also down 5.4% compared with June of last year.
The latest sales came in below the 3.99 million annual pace economists were expecting, according to FactSet.
All told, there were about 1.32 million unsold homes at the end of last month, an increase of 3.1% from May and up 23% from June last year, NAR said. That translates to a 4.1-month supply at the current sales pace. In a more balanced market between buyers and sellers there is a 4- to 5-month supply.
Signs of pivot
While still below pre-pandemic levels, the recent increase in home inventory suggests that, despite record-high home prices, the housing market may be tipping in favor of homebuyers.
"We're seeing a slow shift from a seller's market to a buyer's market," said Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors. "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."
For now, however, sellers are still benefiting from a tight housing market.
Homebuyers snapped up homes last month typically within just 22 days after the properties hit the market. And 29% of those properties sold for more than their original list price, which typically means sellers received offers from multiple home shoppers.
"Right now we're seeing increased inventory, but we're not seeing increased sales yet," said Yun.
As prices climb, the prospect of owning a home becomes a greater challenge for Americans, particularly first-time buyers, some of whom are opting to sit things out.
"High mortgage rates and rising prices remain significant obstacles for buyers," Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics said in a note. "But ongoing relief on the supply side should be positive for home sales as will be an eventual decline in borrowing costs as the Fed starts to lower rates later this year."
Nancy Vanden Houten, senior economist at Oxford Economics, echoes that optimism.
"The increase in supply may support sales as mortgage rates move lower and may lead to some softening in home prices, which at current levels, are pricing many buyers out of the market," Vanden Houten said in a note on the latest home sale data.
The U.S. housing market has been mired in a slump dating back to 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. Existing home sales sank to a nearly 30-year low last year as the average rate on a 30-year mortgage surged to a 23-year high of 7.79%, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac.
The average rate has mostly hovered around 7% this year — more than double what it was just three years ago — as stronger-than-expected reports on the economy and inflation have forced the Federal Reserve to keep its short-term rate at the highest level in more than 20 years.
- In:
- National Association of Realtors
- Los Angeles
veryGood! (47771)
Related
- New Mexico secretary of state says she’s experiencing harassment after the election
- WHO calls on China to share data on raccoon dog link to pandemic. Here's what we know
- With Tax Credit in Doubt, Wind Industry Ponders if It Can Stand on Its Own
- Changing our clocks is a health hazard. Just ask a sleep doctor
- NATO’s Rutte calls for more Western support for Ukraine, warns of Russian alliances
- You'll Be Crazy in Love With Beyoncé and Jay-Z's London Photo Diary
- North Dakota Supreme Court ruling keeps the state's abortion ban on hold for now
- The Smiths Bassist Andy Rourke Dead at 59 After Cancer Battle
- Deebo Samuel explains 'out of character' sideline altercation with 49ers long snapper, kicker
- Sickle cell patient's success with gene editing raises hopes and questions
Ranking
- Fantasy football waiver wire: 10 players to add for NFL Week 11
- Staffer for Rep. Brad Finstad attacked at gunpoint after congressional baseball game
- Trump EPA’s ‘Secret Science’ Rule Would Dismiss Studies That Could Hold Clues to Covid-19
- Fighting Climate Change Can Be a Lonely Battle in Oil Country, Especially for a Kid
- Philadelphia mass transit users face fare hikes of more than 20% and possible service cuts
- Jersey Shore’s Nicole Polizzi Hilariously Reacts to Her Kids Calling Her “Snooki”
- COP’s Postponement Until 2021 Gives World Leaders Time to Respond to U.S. Election
- A months-long landfill fire in Alabama reveals waste regulation gaps
Recommendation
-
Suspect in deadly 2023 Atlanta shooting is deemed not competent to stand trial
-
Becky Sauerbrunn, U.S. Women's National Team captain, to miss World Cup with injury
-
Infection toll for recalled eyedrops climbs to 81, including 4 deaths, CDC says
-
Human composting: The rising interest in natural burial
-
John Robinson, successful football coach at USC and with the LA Rams, has died at 89
-
Jessie J Gives Birth, Welcomes Baby Boy Over One Year After Miscarriage
-
Trump’s Fuel Efficiency Reduction Would Be Largest Anti-Climate Rollback Ever
-
Solar Industry to Make Pleas to Save Key Federal Subsidy as It Slips Away