Coming off the traditionally strong spring buying season, home prices have now hit a new high, according to various sources, suggesting a tough mid-2024 market for home sellers.
The national median home price in June was more than $426,000, a significant 4.1% increase over where things stood exactly a year ago.
According to the National Association of Realtors, the new home price high comes as home sales have dropped by 5.4% over June of 2023.
In a statement, Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the industry is seeing a “shift from a seller’s market to a buyer’s market.”
Continued Yun: “Homes are sitting on the market a bit longer, and sellers are receiving fewer offers.” In addition, more would-be buyers are now “insisting on home inspections and appraisals, and inventory is definitely rising on a national basis.”
Yet, despite the most recent price increases, Yun said he believes that “further large accelerations are unlikely.”
The reason: “Supply and demand dynamics are reaching a balanced market condition.”
The somewhat swift early summer drop in home sales from last June was seen in all regions of the country, according to NAR figures, with the Northeast seeing a 6% drop; the Midwest off by 6.1%; and the South down by 6.9%.
The decline was smallest in the West, where home sales were off by only 2.6%.
Perhaps not surprisingly, given the home price hike, properties last month tended to remain on the market longer than they did in June of 2023, for a total of 22 days last month.
Animating all of these numbers is the question of inventory. According to the National Association of Home Builders, the new home inventory nationally in June was at the 9.3% mark.
“There is still a long-run need for more construction because existing inventory remains relatively low,” Jing Fu, NAHB’s director of forecasting and analysis, said in a statement.
By Garry Boulard
Image Credit: Courtesy of Pixabay