The U.S. real estate market is under "double squeeze" from high interest rates and high house prices, with a month-on-month decline of 2.4% in sales of existing homes in June.

Against the backdrop of high mortgage rates and historically high house prices, demand in the US second-hand housing market has cooled again. Data released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) on Thursday showed that existing home sales in the US dropped by 2.4% in June compared to the previous month, below market expectations, indicating that housing affordability remains a major factor restraining homebuying demand. The data showed that, after seasonal adjustments, the annualized total of existing home sales in June was 4.09 million units, a decrease of 2.4% from May, when the market had expected a slight increase. However, compared to the same period last year, existing home sales in June still increased by 2.8%. Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the NAR, stated that recent fluctuations in mortgage rates have led to continued fluctuations in existing home sales in the US, reflecting the sensitivity of homebuyers to changes in housing affordability. However, with over 500,000 new jobs added in the US so far this year, a stable job market will continue to provide some support for the real estate market. Analysis indicates that the data released reflects completed home transactions, with most home purchase contracts signed in May. At that time, 30-year fixed mortgage rates were still rising, and since the escalation of tensions in the Middle East in March, US mortgage rates have been continuously increasing, putting pressure on homebuying demand. In terms of supply, as of the end of June, the inventory of existing homes in the US was 1.56 million units, a decrease of 0.6% from May and an increase of 1.3% from the same period last year. Calculated based on the current sales pace, the market inventory is estimated to be able to be sold in about 4.6 months, still below the typically considered balanced level of 6 months. Due to the tight supply of housing, house prices in the US continue to rise. The median sale price of existing homes in the US in June rose to $440,600, an increase of 1.8% compared to the same period last year, reaching a new historical high. Typically, June is both a peak season for real estate sales and a month with the strongest price performance. Yun stated that if the growth of housing supply continues to stagnate, the long-term affordability of housing in the US will be constrained. Insufficient inventory may further push up prices, so increasing housing supply is crucial to improving homebuying opportunities. In terms of price ranges, the high-end residential market continues to perform the strongest. Sales of homes priced below $100,000 decreased by 1.7% year-on-year; sales of homes priced between $100,000 and $250,000 grew by less than 1%; while sales of homes priced between $750,000 and $1 million increased by nearly 14% year-on-year, and sales of homes priced above $1 million increased by 18%. Regionally, existing home sales in the Northeast US saw an increase, while other regions experienced declines. Additionally, cash purchases accounted for 25% of total transactions, lower than the 29% from the same period last year; first-time homebuyers accounted for 33% of total transactions, higher than the 30% from the previous year, indicating an improvement in first-time homebuying demand, but the overall real estate market is still constrained by high rates and prices.