June housing market data provides good news for home buyers

After potentially reaching an inflection point in May, housing inventory saw an uptick in June, according to Realtor.com’s monthly housing report.

New listings jumped 10.9% month-over-month and 5.5% year-over-year. While the overall supply of homes for sale stood 43.1% lower than June 2020, it rose from May’s inventory, which was 50.9% lower from the year before. In spite of the still significant lack of homes for sale, June’s data bodes well for home buyers, according to Realtor.com Senior Economist George Ratiu.

"Inventory declines improved over the steep drops seen earlier in the pandemic as sellers stepped back into the market in a variety of price ranges across the country,” Ratiu said in the report. “The improvement we saw in new listings growth from May to June shows sellers are entering the market historically later in the season, which could mean we'll see home buying continue into the fall as buyers jump at new opportunities."

Among the 50 largest housing markets, Milwaukee experienced the biggest annual gain in new listings, spiking 44.7%. San Jose, Calif., Cleveland and Washington, D.C. followed at 40.7%, 37.9% and 36.3%, respectively.

The increase in sellers in June fell in line with a prediction for bolstered inventory from earlier this year. Although the gain in supply moderated the rate of value growth, it did not stop it from setting a new record high for the fifth consecutive month. The median home price spiked 12.7% annually to $385,000, growing from $380,000 in May and $342,000 in June 2020.

Austin, Texas stood above the rest of the country with a 34.3% surge in median listing price, followed by 19.6% in Riverside, Calif., and Tampa, Fla., and 18.6% in Las Vegas. Meanwhile, prices came down 9.8% in Columbus, Ohio, 1.3% in Minneapolis and 0.5% in Richmond, Va.