ARLINGTON, Va.—Existing-home sales continued to decline in June – the third consecutive month – as the median price reached an all-time high of $276,900 (not seasonally adjusted).
Despite slow sales and high prices, NAFCU Research Assistant Yun Cohen said there are some signs of potential relief for home shoppers.
"Inventory rose for the sixth straight month in June and showed annual growth for the first time in three years," Cohen said in a NAFCU Macro Data Flash report. She also cited a recent study by Trulia that found many expensive metro areas, such as New York and Los Angeles, saw an uptick in listings during the second quarter.
Persistent Shortage
"However, the improvement was far from enough to overcome the persistent shortage. The market remains tight and competition continues to drive prices higher," Cohen added.
Existing home sales decreased 0.6% in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.38 million. Sales during the month were 2.2% lower than a year ago.
Sales improved in two of the four regions during June. Sales in the Northeast increased 5.9%, followed by the Midwest (+0.8%). Sales in the West fell 2.6% from the previous month and in the South (-2.2%).
Based on current sales, there were 4.3 months of supply at the end of June, up from 4.1 months in May. Analysts consider six months of supply to be roughly balanced between supply and demand. Inventory rose 4.3% in June and was 0.5% higher than a year ago. This marks the first year-over-year inventory increase since June 2015, Cohen said.
The median existing home price increased from $265,100 in May to $276,900 (not seasonally adjusted) in June. This is 5.2% higher than the median price from a year ago.