Sales of all types of existing homes rose 2.8% year over year in June to an annualized rate of 4.09 million, while the median sales price hit a record high of $440,600, the National Association of REALTORS® said.
Single-family home sales climbed 3.3% year over year to 3.73 million, while condominium and co-op sales slid 2.7% to 360,000. Month over month, sales of all types of homes slid 2.8%, while single-family sales declined 2.4%, and condo sales decreased 2.7%.
The median sales price of single-family homes rose 1.8% year over year to $446,400, while the price of a condo climbed 1.6% to reach $380,000.
“The back-and-forth in monthly home sales activity, driven by mild fluctuations in mortgage rates, shows how sensitive home buyers are to affordability conditions,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “However, job gains — more than half a million since the beginning of the year — will continue to provide support for the housing market.”
Year-over-year, sales rose in the Midwest, South and West and were flat in the Northeast. Month-over-month, sales rose in the Northeast and fell in the Midwest, South and West.
Inventory slid 0.6% month over month and rose 1.3% year over year to 1.56 million homes, which equals a 4.6-month supply of unsold inventory, up from 4.5 months in May and the same as a year ago.
The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage in June was 6.49%, up from 6.44% in May and down from 6.82% a year earlier.
“The median home price has reached an all-time high. Even so, affordability is better than a year ago because wage growth is outpacing home price growth,” Yun said. “However, progress on long-term housing affordability could be hampered if inventory growth continues to stall. Without consistent gains in inventory, home prices can accelerate. It is critical to introduce more supply to the market to widen the opportunity for homeownership.”
