Total existing home sales rose by 1.4% on a seasonally adjusted rate from May to June, according to the latest report from the National Association of Realtors. This ends a four-month streak of negative home sales growth month to month at the national level. Year over year, sales have risen 22.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.86 million. This total includes single-family homes as well as condominiums, co-ops, and townhomes.
The median existing home sales price has risen 23.4% year over year, up to $363,300—the fastest YOY rate of price appreciation since January 2019. Homes are typically on the market for 17 days, according to NAR, and the inventory of unsold homes has risen 3.3% to approximately 1.25 million.
On their own, single-family home sales are at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.14 million in June—up 1.4% from May and up 19.3% from one year ago. The median existing single-family home price was $370,600, up 24.4% from June 2020.
“Supply has modestly improved in recent months due to more housing starts and existing homeowners listing their homes, all of which has resulted in an uptick in sales,” says Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. “Home sales continue to run at a pace above the rate seen before the pandemic.”
First-time buyers made up 31% of home sales in June, even with May but down from 35% in June 2020. Individual investors and second-home buyers made up 14% of home purchases in June, down from 17% in May and up from 9% in June 2020. All-cash sales accounted for 23% of transactions, even with May and up 16% from June 2020.
“At a broad level, home prices are in no danger of a decline due to tight inventory conditions, but I do expect prices to appreciate at a slower pace by the end of the year,” Yun says. “Ideally, the costs for a home would rise roughly in line with income growth, which is likely to happen in 2022 as more listings and new construction become available.”
At the regional level, existing home sales rose to an annual rate of 1.3 million in June, up 3.1% from May and up 18.8% from one year ago. Home sales in the Northeast rose to an annual rate of 740,000, up 2.8% from May and 45.1% from one year ago, and sales in the West rose to an annual rate of 1.2 million, up 1.7% from May and 23.7% from one year ago. Sales in the South remained unchanged from May to June at an annual rate of 2.6 million, up 21.4% from one year ago.
“Huge wealth gains from both housing equity and the stock market have nudged up all-cash transactions, but first-time buyers who need mortgage financing are being uniquely challenged with record-high home prices and low inventory,” Yun says. “Although rates are favorably low, these hurdles have been overwhelming to some potential buyers.”
