U.S. Home Prices Hit Record High in June While Most Major Markets Shift Toward Buyers

U.S. home prices reached an all-time high in June even as 70 percent of major metropolitan markets shifted into buyer territory, Newsweek reported. The national median sales price for existing homes climbed to $440,600, according to National Association of Realtors data.

Existing-home sales declined 2.4 percent from May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.09 million properties. Redfin recorded 48.5 percent more sellers than buyers nationwide in June, with 1,496,490 sellers and 1,007,735 buyers. The gap narrowed slightly from 48.7 percent in May and 50.1 percent in December.

Thirty-three of the 47 metro areas Redfin analyzed qualified as buyer markets, defined as any area with more than 10 percent excess supply. Miami posted the largest imbalance at 139. Nashville followed at 128.8 percent, Houston at 123.8 percent, San Antonio at 117.4 percent and Austin at 101.3 percent.

Orlando, Dallas, Phoenix, Las Vegas and West Palm Beach completed the top 10. Median sale prices remained elevated in these markets. Miami recorded $652,110 in May, Nashville $474,716 and Houston $349,791.

Those figures stood well above 2019 levels of roughly $300,000 in Nashville and $240,000 in Houston. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate hovered near 6.5 percent. In Miami, annual home insurance premiums averaged $14,520 for $300,000 in dwelling coverage.

"The biggest hurdle for Americans looking to buy a home is affordability, but those with the budget to move now—even in the face of record-high home prices and stubbornly high mortgage rates—have the power," Asad Khan, senior economist at Redfin, said.