Home prices

The sales pace is now at the low end of the range seen over the past year, suggesting limited momentum amid a lack of affordability.

A national measure of prices rose 6.3% from a year earlier, less than the 6.5% gain in March, according to data from S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller.

Sales of existing homes in the U.S. fell for a third straight month in May while prices set another record, underscoring persistent affordability challenges that hobbled the important spring selling season.

While not-in-my-backyard activists have long fought new developments, local officials and business groups across the South say they've seen a heightened level of anger since the pandemic-era growth.

Home inventory on the market increased in May, but stubbornly high mortgage rates and home prices are leading to slow sales in many areas, according to reports from Redfin and Zillow.

Despite the surge of inventory, the number of available homes is still below pre-pandemic levels, while price movements show wide regional variations, ICE Mortgage Technology said.

An index of contract signings from the National Association of Realtors dropped 7.7% to 72.3, the lowest reading since the early months of the pandemic.

Prices in a measure of 20 cities increased 7.4% from a year earlier, larger than the 7.3% annual gain in February, an S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller index shows.

Contract closings decreased 1.9% from a month ago to a 4.14 million annualized rate, according to National Association of Realtors data released Wednesday.

Compared to a year ago, investors bought a greater number of properties and made up a larger share of overall purchases, returning to the market faster than individual buyers, according to Redfin.