The National
Association of Realtors (NAR) reported on Tuesday that the U.S. existing home
sales declined 5.4 per cent m-o-m to a seasonally adjusted rate of 3.89 million
in June from an unrevised 4.11 million
in May. This was the fourth
straight monthly drop in existing home sales and marked
the lowest rate since December 2023
(3.88 million).
Economists had expected
home re-sales decreasing at
a 4.00 million-unit pace last month.
In y-o-y terms,
existing-home sales also dropped 5.4 per cent in June.
According to
the report, all four major regions - the Midwest (-8.0 per cent m-o-m), the South (-5.9 per cent m-o-m),
the West (-2.6 per cent m-o-m), and the Northeast (-2.1 per
cent m-o-m) - recorded decreases on a m-o-m basis. In y-o-y
terms, existing-home sales remained unchanged in the West,
but fell in the remaining three regions - the South (-6.9 per cent), Midwest (-6.1
per cent), and Northeast (-6.0 per cent).
Over the
reviewed period, the median existing-home price for all housing types soared 4.1
per cent y-o-y to $ $426,900. This marked the 12th straight month
of year-over-year advances in median existing-home price and the second consecutive
month it reached an all-time high.
Single-family
home sales came in at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 3.52 million in June,
down 5.1 per cent m-o-m and 4.3 per cent y-o-y. Meanwhile, existing condominium and co-op sales were registered
at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 370,000 units in June, down 7.5 per
cent m-o-m and 14.0 per cent y-o-y.
Commenting on
the latest data, Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, noted that a slow shift
from a seller's market to a buyer's market is now being seeing. “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.”