US home sales fell in June as prices reach new heights

By ALEX VEIGA
AP Business Writer

Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes slowed for the fifth consecutive month in June as higher mortgage rates and rising prices kept many home hunters on the sidelines. The National Association of Realtors said Wednesday that existing home sales fell 5.4% last month from May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.12 million. That’s lower than what economists were expecting, according to FactSet. Sales fell 14.2% from June last year. Sales have now fallen to the slowest pace since June 2020, near the start of the pandemic. Excluding the pandemic slowdown, sales in June were running at the slowest pace since January 2019. The national median home price jumped 13.4% in June from a year earlier to $416,000.