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'Flat' existing-home sales fall in June
Existing-home sales fell 1.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.3 million units in June, a slight retreat from gains made in the previous month. NAFCU Chief Economist and Vice President of Research Curt Long described the sales trend as "flat."
"The drop did not quite erase gains from the previous month, but the overall trend in home sales is flat," said Long in a Macro Data Flash report. “Mortgage rates should be providing more of a stimulus for sales, but supply constraints are continuing to push up prices and crimp affordability.
"NAFCU expects more of the same in the housing market, as weak construction activity is unable to loosen inventory bottlenecks," Long added.
Sales increased in all four regions during the month: sales in the Northeast grew 4.7 percent, in the Midwest 3.4 percent, in the South 1.8 percent and in the West 1.8 percent. However, compared to a year ago, sales are down in all four regions.
Based on current sales, there were 4.4 months of supply at the end of June, up from 4.3 months in May. Analysts consider 6 months of supply to be roughly balanced between supply and demand.
The median existing home price increased from $278,200 the previous month to $285,700 in June (not seasonally adjusted). That amount represents a 4.3 percent increase from the median price a year ago.