Having dropped to an 11-month low in May, the seasonally adjusted pace of existing-home sales across the U.S. ticked up 1.4 percent in June to an annual rate of 5.86 million sales, which was 22.9 percent higher than in June of last year, when pandemic-driven stay home orders were still widespread, but 14.5 percent lower than in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to data from the National Association of Realtors.

At the same time, listed inventory levels across the U.S. ticked up another 3.3 percent to 1.25 million homes on the market, net of new sales, but were still 18.8 percent lower than at the same time last year, once again, when pandemic-driven stay home orders were still widespread.

While the median existing-home sale price was 3.7 percent higher in June ($363,300) than in May ($350,300) and was 23.4 percent higher than at the same time last year ($294,400), the increase continues to be driven by a dramatic change in the mix of what has sold versus underlying, and widely misrepresented, “appreciation.”

And mortgage loan application volumes, which are a leading, versus lagging, indicator of sales volumes, have since dropped.

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