Economists' Outlook

Housing stats and analysis from NAR's research experts.

Existing Home Sales Decline 5.4% as Home Prices Continue to Rise in June 2022

NAR released a summary of existing-home sales data showing that housing market activity this June fell 5.4% from May 2022. June’s existing home sales reached a 5.12 million seasonally adjusted annual rate. June’s sales of existing homes declined 14.2 % from June 2021. June’s sales represent the fifth consecutive month of declines. 

Line graph: U.S. Existing-Home Sales June 2021 to June 2022

The national median existing-home price for all housing types reached a new high of $416,000 in June, up 13.4% percent from a year ago. Home prices have continued to climb, marking the 124th consecutive month of year-over-year gains.

Bar chart: U.S. and Regional Median Sales Price of Existing-Home Sales, June 2022 and June 2021

Regionally, in June, all four regions showed strong price growth from a year ago. The South had the largest gain of 16.8% followed, by the Midwest with an incline of 10.2%. The Northeast showed an increase of 10.1%, and the West had the smallest price gain of 9.6% from June 2021.

June’s inventory of unsold listings as of the end of the month rose 9.6% from last month, standing at 1,260,000 homes for sale. Compared with June of 2021, inventory levels are 2.4% higher. It will take 3.0 months to move the current level of inventory at the current sales pace, well below the desired pace of 6 months.

Demand remains strong as home buyers are snatching listings quickly off the MLS and it takes approximately 14 days for a home to go from listing to a contract in the current housing market. A year ago, it took 17 days.

Bar chart: Inventory, June 2021 to June 2022

From a year ago, all four regions had declines in sales in June. The West had the biggest dip of 21.3% followed by the South which fell 14.1%. The Northeast decreased 11.8% followed by the Midwest which had was down 9.6%.

Compared to May 2022, three of the four regions also showed reductions in sales in June, while the Northeast was flat. The West region had the largest decline of 11.1% followed by the South with a drop of 6.2%. The Northeast had the smallest dip in sales of 1.6%.

The South led all regions in percentage of national sales, accounting for 44.1% of the total, while the Northeast had the smallest share at 13.1%.

Bar chart: Regional Existing-Home Sales and Year-Over-Year Percent Change, June 2022 and June 2021

In June, single-family sales decreased 4.8% and condominiums sales fell 9.8% compared to last month. Single-family home sales were 12.8% while condominium sales fell 24.7% compared to a year ago. The median sales price of single-family homes rose to 13.3% at $423,300 from June 2021, while the median sales price of condominiums rose 11.5% at $354,900.

Line graph: Year-over-year percent change in single-family and condominium median sales prices, January 2020 to June 2022
Line graph: Year-over-year percent change in single-family and condominium existing-home sales, January 2020 to June 2022

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