The Home Search Continues

June brings more of the same in terms of existing-home sales, which continue to fall, according to a report released Monday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

Completed transactions of single-family homes, townhomes, and condominiums fell 1.8 percent on a seasonally-adjusted annualized rate, from 5.62 million in May to 5.52 million in June. This decline is once again attributed to low inventory, which also was on the decline at 1.96 million homes on the market, a change of 0.5 percent. That total is 7.1 percent lower than it was a year ago, when there were 2.11 million homes on the market.

Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist at NAR, echoes this sentiment, "Closings were down in most of the country last month because interested buyers are being tripped up by supply that remains stuck at a meager level and price growth that's straining their budget. The demand for buying a home is as strong as it has been since before the Great Recession. Listings in the affordable price range continue to be scooped up rapidly, but the severe housing shortages inflicting many markets are keeping a large segment of would-be buyers on the sidelines."

As is sometimes the case with an inventory shortage, median existing-home prices were up year-over-year, at $263,800, a 6.5 percent increase from June 2016, when the median price was $247,600. June’s median sales price is now the new peak, and is also the 64^th straight month of year-over-year appreciation. Time on the market showed little signs of change, averaging 28 days in June compared to 27 days in May. Year-over-year, that number is down from 34 days.

According to Yun, the current landscape isn’t favoring first-time homebuyers, who are increasingly being squeezed out of the housing market, accounting for 32 percent of all existing-home sales. "It's shaping up to be another year of below average sales to first-time buyers despite a healthy economy that continues to create jobs," said Yun. "Worsening supply and affordability conditions in many markets have unfortunately put a temporary hold on many aspiring buyers' dreams of owning a home this year."