Price of an existing home peaks even as sales pace falls below 4 million

Just when you thought the housing market couldn’t get any worse, it does.

According to the monthly report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), existing-home sales in June registered at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.93 million, a 2.7% decline compared to May. The figure was flat year over year.

One of the culprits for slow sales is that the median existing-home price hit $435,300 last month — a record high for the month of June and a 2% rise compared to last year. It’s the 24th consecutive month of annual price gains.

Inventory continues to trend ahead of last year’s numbers, but the 15.9% annual rise is down slightly from previous months. At 1.53 million units, it’s down 0.6% compared to May.

“Despite the uptick in pending [home sales] and some buyer-friendly momentum, June inventory data suggest that a rising share of sellers are choosing to pull listings or allow them to expire, suggesting that the stalemate between buyers and sellers that has held home sales back may last longer,” Realtor.com chief economist Danielle Hale in a statement.

One bright spot is a 1.7% yearly gain for sales in the South, which makes up almost half of all existing-home sales in the country. The next largest region is the Midwest, which saw a 2.2% annual gain.

But the South and the Midwest each fell relative to May, dropping 2.2% and 4%, respectively.

Mortgage rates remain a challenge for homebuyers. According to HousingWire‘s Mortgage Rates Center, the average rate for a 30-year conforming loan was 6.91% on Wednesday.

“High mortgage rates are causing home sales to remain stuck at cyclical lows,” NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement. “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.”