Check out which region of the country saw sales increases in June
Hesitant buyers continue to pull away from the housing market due to increasing home prices and elevated interest rates. Existing home sales fell 2.7% in June, according to the latest numbers released Wednesday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
The seasonally adjusted annual sales rate was 3.93 million. While there was a monthly drop, the number was the same as in June 2024.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, attributed the sales drop to the ongoing affordability and rate headwinds.
“High mortgage rates are causing home sales to remain stuck at cyclical lows,” Yun said. “If the average mortgage rates were to decline to 6%, our scenario analysis suggests an additional 160,000 renters becoming first-time homeowners and elevated sales activity from existing homeowners.”
Record home prices
Home prices surged to another all-time high in June. The median price for existing homes reached $435,300 in June, a 2% increase from last June’s $426,900. It is the 24th consecutive month of year-over-year price increases.
While this is a challenge for homebuyers, Yun notes that it only adds to the record equity people have in their homes.
“The record high median home price highlights how American homeowners’ wealth continues to grow—a benefit of homeownership,” he said. “The average homeowner’s wealth has expanded by $140,900 over the past five years.”
A decrease in housing inventory helped contribute to the price increase. There were 1.53 million units of housing in June, a 0.6% decrease from May, but a 15.9% increase from June 2024. This represents a 4.7-month supply of unsold inventory, up from 4.6 months in May and 4.0 months last year.
While that sounds like an ample supply of homes, Yun notes it’s not enough to curb rising home prices.
“Multiple years of undersupply are driving the record-high home prices,” Yun said. “Home construction continues to lag population growth. This is holding back first-time home buyers from entering the market. More supply is needed to increase the share of first-time homebuyers in the coming years, even though some markets appear to have a temporary oversupply at the moment.”
Sales increased in the West
Despite the decline in sales, the West was the only region to experience an increase in June. Home sales were up 1.4% in the month. However, they were down 4.1% from last year. The median sales price in the West is $636,100, up 1% from June 2024.
The Northeast saw the largest decrease, with an 8% month-over-month decline. Sales fell 4.2% from June 2024, and the median sales price of $543,300 was up 4.2% year-over-year.
Midwest home sales went down 4% from May to an annual rate of 950,000. It was a 2.2% increase from June 2024, with the median price of $337,600 up 3.4% from last year.
The South had a 2.2% decrease month-over-month and a 1.7% increase from June 2024. The median price saw the smallest year-over-year increase of any region at just 0.3%.
Tyler Hodgson, Executive Vice President of Growth at UMortgage, highlights that while affordability remains a nationwide challenge, uneven markets in major metropolitan areas mean buyers could face anything from seller concessions to multiple offers. https://t.co/RYbLHfiJTn
— Mortgage Professional America Magazine (@MPAMagazineUS) July 21, 2025
Interest rates have held steady, both month-over-month and when viewed compared to June 2024. Citing Freddie Mac data as of July 17, the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage was 6.75%, up from 6.72% in May but down from 6.77% in June 2024.
Market volatility due to tariff issues has kept interest rates elevated. Yun believes if rates can fall even a slight amount, the mortgage market could really heat up.
“Expanding participation in the housing market will increase the mobility of the workforce and drive economic growth,” Yun said. “If mortgage rates decrease in the second half of this year, expect home sales to increase across the country due to strong income growth, healthy inventory, and a record-high number of jobs.”
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