• 5.12 million existing homes were sold in June (SAAR), down 5.4% from May and down 14.2% from June 2021, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
• Total housing inventory at the end of June amounted to 1,260,000 units, NAR said, up 9.6% from May and up 2.4% from one year ago.
• The median existing-home price for all housing types in June was $416,000, up 13.4% from June 2021.

As mortgage rates stay elevated and inflation burns on, affordability is still top of mind for many would-be home buyers, keeping demand on the sidelines and constricting home sales further than expectations suggested. Existing home sales slipped for the fifth straight month and amounted to almost a full year of annual declines, lowering levels closer to those seen in the early months of the pandemic and positioning 2022 for a much lower target than the super robust 2021. With buyer budgets capped, for-sale inventory continues to rise – marking the first year-over-year increase since the start of the pandemic – at the expense of sales as homes stay on the market for longer. This is welcome news for those buyers who are still able to weather the storm as they can expect less competition for each home and more time to make crucial decisions, reducing the pressure of the buying experience. This pull back in sales and bump in inventory is ultimately going to help the market transition back to a more balanced position in the coming months as price growth cools off and buyers who can afford to stick around have more power than at any time during the last year.