U.S. Existing Home Sales Plunge To Six-Month Low In June

(RTTNews) - With prices reaching a new record high, the National Association of Realtors released a report on Tuesday showing existing home sales in the U.S. plunged by more than expected in the month of June.

NAR said existing home sales dove by 5.4 percent to an annual rate of 3.89 million in June after falling by 0.7 percent to a rate of 4.11 million in May. Economists had expected existing home sales to slump by 2.9 percent to a rate of 3.99 million.

The bigger than expected decrease pulled existing home sales down to their lowest level since hitting a rate of 3.88 million last December.

"We're seeing a slow shift from a seller's market to a buyer's market," said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. "Homes are sitting on the market a bit longer, and sellers are receiving fewer offers."

He added, "More buyers are insisting on home inspections and appraisals, and inventory is definitively rising on a national basis."

The report said housing inventory at the end of June totaled 1.32 million units, up 3.1 percent from 1.28 million units in May and up 23.4 percent from 1.07 million units a year ago.

The unsold inventory represents 4.1 months of supply at the current sales pace, up from 3.7 months in May and 3.1 months in June 2023. The last time unsold inventory posted a four-month supply was May 2020.

NAR also said the median existing home price for all housing types was an all-time high of $426,900 in June, up 4.1 percent from $410,100 in the same month last year.

"Even as the median home price reached a new record high, further large accelerations are unlikely," Yun said. "Supply and demand dynamics are nearing a balanced market condition. The months supply of inventory reached its highest level in more than four years."

On Wednesday, the Commerce Department is scheduled to release its report on new home sales in the month of June. New home sales are expected to climb to an annual rate of 640,000 in June after plunging to a rate of 619,000 in May.