Existing home sales drop 2.4% in June as record-high prices and mortgage rates squeeze buyers

Existing home sales in June fell 2.4% month-over-month to 4.09 million units (seasonally adjusted annualized rate), missing analyst expectations of a slight gain. The decline was driven by persistently high mortgage rates and record-high home prices, which are squeezing buyer affordability. Despite the monthly drop, sales were 2.8% higher than June of the previous year. NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun noted that buyers remain highly sensitive to affordability conditions and mortgage rate fluctuations.