US Existing-Home Sales Fall 2.7% in June, Market Shows Signs of Cooling

The U.S. housing market showed signs of stagnation in June, with existing-home sales falling 2.7% month-over-month and remaining unchanged from a year earlier at an annual pace of 3.93 million units, according to data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

Bloomberg noted that this marks a 9-month low for existing-home sales. The pullback came despite continued price appreciation. The median existing-home price for all housing types climbed 2% year-over-year to $435,300 – marking a record high for June and the 24th straight month of annual price increases.

"Multiple years of undersupply are driving the record high home price. Home construction continues to lag population growth," said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “This is holding back first-time home buyers from entering the market.

Yun noted that if mortgage rates were to fall to 6%, it could unlock additional demand, particularly from renters. NAR’s analysis suggests that such a rate drop could bring 160,000 new first-time buyers into the market and spur more activity among current homeowners.

The total housing inventory fell 0.6% from May to 1.53 million units, but remained 15.9% higher than a year earlier. The supply of unsold inventory increased to 4.7 months, up from 4.6 months in May and 4 months in June 2024.

Region-wise, the Northeast experienced the sharpest monthly decline, with sales falling 8% to an annual rate of 460,000—down 4.2% from the same period last year. The West posted a 1.4% monthly gain to 710,000 units, but remained 4.1% below June 2024 levels.

U.S. equity markets were mixed in morning trade on Wednesday. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) was up 0.3% and the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA) gained over 0.5%. The Invesco QQQ Series 1 Trust (QQQ), which tracks the Nasdaq-100, dipped 0.11%.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around SPY dipped to ‘neutral’ from ‘bullish’ territory a day ago.

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