US June existing home sales highlights:
- Prior was 4.17m
- Sales pace vs
Existing-home sales are the largest component of the U.S. housing market and are closely watched as a read-through on household confidence, affordability, mortgage demand and housing-related consumption. The series captures closings of single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, making it broader and less revision-prone than new-home sales, which are based on contracts. Through May, the market showed a modest recovery from the rate-driven weakness that has weighed on turnover since 2022. Sales rose 3.2% from April and 3.2% from a year earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.17 million, the strongest pace since December. Single-family sales did most of the work, rising 3.5% month over month to a 3.8 million annualized pace, while condo and co-op sales were flat at 370,000.
The improvement was helped by slightly better affordability, with NAR’s affordability index rising to 105.6 from 97.5 a year earlier, as income growth outpaced home-price growth in many regions. Still, affordability remains the main constraint. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.44% in May, up from April but below 6.82% a year earlier. Inventory improved, but only gradually: unsold supply rose 3.3% on the month to 1.55 million homes, equal to 4.5 months of supply. The national median existing-home price reached $429,300, up 1.3% year over year and a May record, underscoring that higher listings have not yet translated into broad price relief. First-time buyers rose to 35% of sales, while cash buyers held at 25%.
