WASHINGTON (July 23, 2024) – Existing home sales fell in June, with the median sales price reaching the highest price on record for the second consecutive month, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. All four major regions in the United States saw sales declines. Year-over-year, sales declined in the Northeast, Midwest and South, but were flat in the West.
Total sales of existing homes1 – completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhouses, condominiums and co-ops – fell 5.4% from May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.89 million in June. On a year-over-year basis, sales also fell 5.4% (down from 4.11 million in June 2023).
“We’re seeing a slow transition from a seller’s market to a buyer’s market,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “Homes are sitting on the market a little longer, and sellers are getting fewer offers. More buyers are insisting on having homes inspected and appraised, and inventory is definitely increasing nationwide.”
Total housing inventory2 New car sales reached 1.32 million units at the end of June, up 3.1% from May and 23.4% from a year ago (1.07 million). Unsold inventory represents 4.1 months of supply at the current sales pace, compared to 3.7 months in May and 3.1 months in June 2023. The last time unsold inventory showed a four-month supply was in May 2020 (4.5 months).
The median price of existing homes3 In June, all-type home prices reached $426,900, a record high and a 4.1 percent increase from a year earlier ($410,100). All four regions of the United States recorded price increases.
“Even though the median home price has hit a new record, further significant accelerations are unlikely,” Yun added. “Supply and demand dynamics are moving closer to a balanced market. Monthly inventory supply has reached its highest level in more than four years.”
Real Estate Agent Confidence Index
According to the monthly real estate agent confidence index, properties typically remained on the market for 22 days in June, down from 24 days in May, but up from 18 days in June 2023.
First-time buyers were responsible for 29% of sales in June, down from 31% in May but up from 27% in June 2023. NAR 2023 Profile of home buyers and sellers – released in November 20234 – found that the annual share of first-time buyers was 32%.
Cash sales accounted for 28% of transactions in June, unchanged from May and up from 26% a year ago.
Individual investors or second-home buyers, who account for many cash sales, purchased 16% of homes in June, unchanged from May and down from 18% in June 2023.
Sales in difficulty5 – foreclosures and short sales – accounted for 2% of sales in June, unchanged from last month and a year earlier.
Mortgage Rates
According to Freddie Mac, the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.77% as of July 18. That’s down from 6.89% a week ago and 6.78% a year ago.
Sales of single-family homes and condominiums/cooperatives
Single-family home sales fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.52 million in June, down 5.1% from 3.71 million in May and down 4.3% from a year earlier. The median price of an existing single-family home was $432,700 in June, up 4.1% from June 2023.
Sales of existing condominiums and co-ops fell 7.5 per cent in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 370,000 units, down 14 per cent from a year earlier (430,000 units). The median price of existing condominiums was $371,700 in June, up 2.6 per cent from a year earlier ($362,200).
Regional distribution
In June, existing home sales in the Northeast fell 2.1% from May to an annual rate of 470,000, down 6% from June 2023. The median price in the Northeast was $521,500, up 9.7% from a year earlier.
In the Midwest, existing home sales fell 8% from the previous month to an annual rate of 920,000 in June, down 6.1% from a year earlier. The median price in the Midwest was $327,100, up 5.5% from June 2023.
Existing home sales in the South fell 5.9% from May to an annual rate of 1.76 million in June, down 6.9% from a year earlier. The median price in the South was $373,000, up 1.7% from a year ago.
In the West, existing home sales fell 2.6 per cent in June to an annual rate of 740,000, unchanged from a year ago. The median price in the West was $629,800, up 3.5 per cent from June 2023.
About the National Association of Realtors
The National Association of REALTORS® is the largest professional association in the United States, representing 1.5 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries. The term REALTOR® is a registered collective membership mark that identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.
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For local information, please contact your local Realtor association to obtain data from local Multiple Listing Services (MLS). Local MLS data is the most accurate source of sales and pricing information in specific areas, although there may be differences in reporting methodology.
NOTE: The NAR Pending Home Sales Index for June is scheduled to be released on July 31 and Existing Home Sales for July will be released on August 22. Release times are 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time.
1 Existing home sales, which include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and cooperatives, are based on transaction closings from multiple listing services. Changes in sales trends outside of MLSs are not reflected in the monthly series. NAR periodically evaluates home sales using other sources to assess overall home sales trends, including sales not reported by MLSs.
Existing home sales, based on closed sales, differ from the U.S. Census Bureau’s series on new single-family home sales, which are based on contracts or the acceptance of a deposit. Because of these differences, it is not uncommon for each series to move in different directions in the same month. In addition, existing home sales, which account for more than 90 percent of total home sales, are based on a much larger sample of data (about 40 percent of the Multiple Listing Service data each month) and are generally not subject to significant revisions from the previous month.
The annual rate for a given month represents the total number of actual sales for a year if the relative pace for that month were maintained for 12 consecutive months. Seasonally adjusted annual rates are used in reporting monthly data to account for seasonal variations in resale activity. For example, the volume of home sales is normally higher in the summer than in the winter, mainly because of differences in weather conditions and the buying habits of families. However, seasonal factors cannot compensate for abnormal weather conditions.
Single-family home data collection began monthly in 1968, while condominium data collection began quarterly in 1981; the series were combined in 1999 when monthly condominium data collection began. Prior to this period, single-family homes accounted for more than nine out of ten purchases. Historical comparisons of total home sales prior to 1999 are based on monthly single-family home sales combined with the corresponding quarterly sales rate for condominiums.
2 Data on total inventory and monthly supply are available up to 1999, while data on single-family home inventory and monthly supply are available up to 1982 (prior to 1999, single-family home sales accounted for over 90% of transactions and condos were only measured on a quarterly basis).
3 The median price is the price at which half of the properties sold at a higher price and half at a lower price. Medians are more representative of market conditions than average prices, which are biased upward by a relatively small share of high-end transactions. The only valid comparisons for median prices are to the same period one year earlier because of the seasonality of buying patterns. Month-to-month comparisons do not compensate for seasonal variations, particularly in the timing of household buying patterns. Changes in the composition of sales can distort median price data. Median and average prices for the previous year are sometimes revised through an automated process if additional data are received.
The national median price of condominiums and co-ops is often higher than the median price of single-family homes because condominiums are concentrated in high-cost housing markets. However, within a given area, single-family homes typically sell for more than condominiums, as shown in the NAR’s quarterly metropolitan area price reports.
4 The survey results are for owner-occupants and differ from the separately reported monthly results of the NAR Realtor Confidence Index, which include all types of buyers. The annual study covers only primary residence purchases and does not include investors or vacation home buyers. The results include both new and existing homes.
5 Distressed sales (foreclosures and short sales), days on market, first-time buyers, all-cash transactions and investors are drawn from a monthly survey for the NAR REALTOR® Confidence Index, published on nar.realtor.