No Letting Up on Falling Existing-Home Sales
They slid 5.4% in June and some say July’s numbers will get worse.
Positive existing-home sales trends continued their reversals in June, falling for the fifth straight month, according to National Association of Realtors.
Sales were down 5.4% from May and 14.2% from one year ago.
It figures to get worse, according to Bill McBride of the Calculated Risk blog, who shared in a post that existing home sales are reported when the transaction closes. Sales in June were mostly for contracts signed in April and May. Recent data shows a significant slowdown in activity starting in May and decelerating further in June.
“My sense is contracts for sales really declined in June, and that will show up as closed sales in July and August – so we should expect a further decline in existing home sales over the next few months.”
Homes on the Market Only 14 Days
On the upswing, the median existing-home sales price rose 13.4% from one year ago to $416,000, a record high and total housing inventory increased at the end of June was up 9.6% from May.
Properties spent less time on the market in June (14 days on average) compared to May (16 days) and June 2021 (17 days). The 14 days on market are the fewest since NAR began tracking it in May 2011.
First-time buyers made 30% of the purchases in June, up from 27% in May and down from 31% in June 2021.
NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said in prepared remarks, “Falling housing affordability continues to take a toll on potential home buyers. Both mortgage rates and home prices have risen too sharply in a short span of time.”