Sales of existing homes unexpectedly fell 5.4% in June after holding steady in April and May, according to new figures compiled by the National Association of Realtors.
Some forecasters were expecting a 2% increase in existing home sales for the month.
NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun noted that several factors are weighing on home sales: a low inventory of properties for sale and tight lending standards.
Several temporary factors also are holding up sales, the trade group said, including delays in processing loan applications and closings due to the high volume of refinancing activity.
The trade group reported Thursday that sales of existing single-family homes, condominiums and cooperatives fell to a 4.37 million seasonally adjusted annual rate in June from a 4.62 million rate in May. (NAR revised upward the rate of sales in May by 70,000 units.)
Overall, home sales are up over 4.5% from a year ago on a seasonally adjusted basis.
On a nonseasonally adjusted basis, sales of previously owned homes rose 3.1% from May to 462,000 in June, the highest level since June 2010 when the homebuyer tax credit was expiring.
The NAR chief economist stressed that buyer interest remains “solid” but the inventory of the homes for sale “continues to shrink limiting buyer opportunities.”
Meanwhile, foreclosure and short sales comprised 25% of June sales, down from 30% a year ago.
NAR attributes the lower percentage of distressed sales partially to the servicing settlements which forced servicers to be more careful in processing foreclosure sales.
Together these forces are pushing up home prices. NAR reported the median price of an existing home sold in June was $189,400, up 8% from a year ago.
“This marks four back-to-back monthly price increases from a year earlier, which last occurred in February to May of June 2006,” NAR said.
