U.S. existing-home sales declined in June 2026 as a modest uptick in mortgage rates weighed on buyer activity, underscoring the housing market’s continued sensitivity to affordability despite a resilient labor market and improving year-over-year purchasing conditions.<\/p>\n
Existing-home sales fell 2.4% from May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.09 million units, though transactions remained 2.8% above the level recorded a year earlier. The monthly decline followed uneven regional performance, with gains confined to the Northeast while the Midwest, South and West all posted lower sales.<\/p>\n
The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 6.49% during June from 6.44% in May, interrupting recent improvements in financing costs. Even so, borrowing costs remained below the 6.82% average seen one year ago, helping support stronger annual sales comparisons.<\/p>\n
Home prices continued to reach new highs. The national median existing-home sales price increased 1.8% from a year earlier to a record $440,600, extending a streak of annual price gains to 36 consecutive months. While price appreciation has moderated, values continue to outpace historical norms as limited inventory constrains supply.<\/p>\n
Inventory remained relatively tight despite modest improvements from last year. Total existing housing inventory slipped 0.6% from May to 1.56 million homes but was 1.3% higher than June 2025. At the current sales pace, the available supply equaled 4.6 months, essentially unchanged from a year earlier and still below levels typically associated with a balanced market.<\/p>\n
Housing affordability improved compared with last year as wage growth outpaced home-price appreciation and mortgage rates remained below 2025 levels. The National Association of Realtors Housing Affordability Index rose to 102.3 from 95.5 a year earlier, with every major U.S. region posting annual gains.<\/p>\n
Single-family home sales, which account for the majority of transactions, declined 2.4% during the month to an annualized pace of 3.73 million units but remained 3.3% above year-earlier levels. The median single-family home price climbed 1.8% to $446,400.<\/p>\n
Condominium and cooperative sales fell 2.7% from May to an annual rate of 360,000 units and were also down 2.7% from a year earlier. The median condo price increased 1.6% to $380,000.<\/p>\n
Regionally, the Northeast was the only area to record a monthly increase in sales, rising 2.1%, while activity declined 3.0% in the Midwest, 3.6% in the South and 1.3% in the West. On an annual basis, sales increased across every region except the Northeast, where activity was unchanged.<\/p>\n
Market conditions remained relatively stable. Homes spent a median of 28 days on the market, one day fewer than in May. First-time buyers represented 33% of purchases, down from 35% the previous month but higher than a year ago. Cash transactions accounted for 25% of sales, while purchases by investors and second-home buyers edged down to 13% of total transactions.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Higher Mortgage Rates Temper Demand U.S. existing-home sales declined in June 2026 as a modest uptick in mortgage rates weighed on buyer activity, underscoring the housing market’s continued sensitivity to affordability despite a resilient labor market and improving year-over-year purchasing conditions. Existing-home sales fell 2.4% from May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.09 […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-63528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n