U.S. existing home sales fall as record prices and rates bite

Record prices and still-elevated mortgage rates pushed existing-home sales down 2.4% in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.09 million units, below the 4.20 million economists surveyed by Reuters had expected. The median existing-home price climbed 1.8% from a year earlier to a record $440,600.

The National Association of Realtors said sales rose only in the Northeast from May, while they fell in the Midwest, South and West. Year over year, sales increased in the Midwest, South and West and were flat in the Northeast, a split that shows how uneven the market remains even as national prices keep pressing higher.

June’s closing data reflected contracts signed in April and May, when mortgage rates were still higher than before the Middle East conflict pushed borrowing costs upward. Freddie Mac said the average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage was 6.52% on June 11, then 6.49% on June 25 and 6.43% on July 2, a modest easing that still left financing expensive for most households. Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said month-to-month swings in sales show how sensitive buyers are to affordability conditions. He also said higher mortgage rates are discouraging sellers from listing because many owners are locked into loans below 5% and do not want to trade up at today’s financing costs.

That lock-in effect kept inventory tight. Unsold homes slipped 0.6% to 1.56 million, equal to 4.6 months of supply, while days on market edged higher and distressed sales remained a small share of transactions. NAR’s existing-home sales figures cover single-family houses, condos and co-ops, making them one of the broadest gauges of activity across the resale market.

The market is still moving, but on narrower terms. First-time buyers accounted for 33% of sales in June, up from 30% a year earlier, yet still short of the 40% share generally associated with a healthy housing market. That gap points to a market increasingly shaped by buyers with cash, equity or higher incomes, while ordinary households remain stuck outside the gate. NAR said the report is a key barometer for agents, homebuyers and sellers across the broader real-estate ecosystem.