Economists' Outlook

Housing stats and analysis from NAR's research experts.

June 2021 Existing-Home Sales Bounce Back as Home Prices Hit Second Highest Pace

NAR released a summary of existing-home sales data showing that housing market activity this June increased 1.4% from May 2021. June's existing-home sales reached a 5.86 million seasonally adjusted annual rate, and June's sales of existing homes increased 22.9% from June 2020.

Line graph: U.S. Existing-Home Sales, June 2020 to June 2021

The national median existing-home price for all housing types rose to $363,300 in June, up 23.4% percent from a year ago. Home prices have continued to rise, and this marks the 112th consecutive month of year-over-year gains.

Bar chart: U.S. and Regional Median Sales Price of Existing-Home Sales, June 2021 and June 2020

Regionally, all four regions showed double-digit price growth from a year ago. The Northeast had the largest gain of 23.6% followed by the South with an increase of 21.4 %. The Midwest showed an increase of 18.5% and the West had the smallest price gain of 17.6% from June 2020.

June's inventory inclined 4.1% from last month, standing at 1.26 million homes for sale and indicating some slight easing of the tight inventory condition. However, compared with June of 2020, inventory levels are 18.2% lower. This would mark 25 straight months of year-over-year declines. It will take 2.6 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 17 days for a home to go from listing to a contract in the current housing market. A year ago, it took 24 days.

Bar chart: Inventory, June 2020 to June 2021

From May 2021, all four regions had inclines in sales except the South, where sales were flat. The Midwest had the biggest gain of 3.1% followed by the Northeast with an incline of 2.8%. The West region had the smallest increase in sales of 1.7%.

From a year ago, all four regions showed double-digit inclines in sales. The Northeast region had the largest gain of 45.1% followed by the West with an incline of 23.7%. The South had an increase in sales of 19.8% followed by the Midwest with the smallest gain of 18.8%.

The South led all regions in percentage of national sales, accounting for 44.3% of the total, while the Northeast had the smallest share at 12.6%.

Bar chart: Regional Existing-Home Sales and Year-Over-Year Percent of Change, June 2021 and June 2020

In June, single-family sales increased 1.4% and condominiums sales were up 1.4 compared to last month. Single-family home sales were up 19.3% while condominium sales were up 56.5% compared to a year ago, reflecting the impact of the pandemic lockdown. The median sales price of single-family homes rose to 24.4% at $370,600 from June 2020, while the median sales price of condominiums rose 19.1% at $311,600.

Line graph: Single Family vs Condo Sales Month-Over-Month Percent Change, January 2019 to June 2021
Line graph: Single Family vs Condo Price Year-Over-Year Percent Change, January 2019 to June 2021

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