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U.S. home prices reach record high in June, despite deepening sales slump
Home prices reached an all-time high in June, even as the nation’s housing slump continues with fewer people buying homes last month due to an affordability crisis.
The national median sales price rose 4.1% from a year earlier to $426,900, the highest on record going back to 1999. At the same time, sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell in June for the fourth straight month as elevated mortgage rates and record-high prices kept many would-be homebuyers on the sidelines.
Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell 5.4% last month from May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.89 million, the fourth consecutive month of declines, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said Tuesday. Existing home sales were also down 5.4% compared with June of last year.
The latest sales came in below the 3.99 million annual pace economists were expecting, according to FactSet.
All told, there were about 1.32 million unsold homes at the end of last month, an increase of 3.1% from May and up 23% from June last year, NAR said. That translates to a 4.1-month supply at the current sales pace. In a more balanced market between buyers and sellers there is a 4- to 5-month supply.
Signs of pivot
While still below pre-pandemic levels, the recent increase in home inventory suggests that, despite record-high home prices, the housing market may be tipping in favor of homebuyers.
“We’re seeing a slow shift from a seller’s market to a buyer’s market,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors. “Homes are sitting on the market a bit longer, and sellers are receiving fewer offers. More buyers are insisting on home inspections and appraisals, and inventory is definitively rising on a national basis.”
For now, however, sellers are still benefiting from a tight housing market.
Homebuyers snapped up homes last month typically within just 22 days after the properties hit the market. And 29% of those properties sold for more than their original list price, which typically means sellers received offers from multiple home shoppers.
“Right now we’re seeing increased inventory, but we’re not seeing increased sales yet,” said Yun.
As prices climb, the prospect of owning a home becomes a greater challenge for Americans, particularly first-time buyers, some of whom are opting to sit things out.
“High mortgage rates and rising prices remain significant obstacles for buyers,” Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics said in a note. “But ongoing relief on the supply side should be positive for home sales as will be an eventual decline in borrowing costs as the Fed starts to lower rates later this year.”
Nancy Vanden Houten, senior economist at Oxford Economics, echoes that optimism.
“The increase in supply may support sales as mortgage rates move lower and may lead to some softening in home prices, which at current levels, are pricing many buyers out of the market,” Vanden Houten said in a note on the latest home sale data.
The U.S. housing market has been mired in a slump dating back to 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. Existing home sales sank to a nearly 30-year low last year as the average rate on a 30-year mortgage surged to a 23-year high of 7.79%, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac.
The average rate has mostly hovered around 7% this year — more than double what it was just three years ago — as stronger-than-expected reports on the economy and inflation have forced the Federal Reserve to keep its short-term rate at the highest level in more than 20 years.
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Frontier Airlines is selling an “all you can fly” pass for 2025. Here’s how the $299 offer works.
Frontier Airlines has announced an “all you can fly” pass for 2025-2026, with the $299 “GoWild!” deal including a year’s worth of unlimited flights — with some restrictions.
To be eligible, pass holders must be U.S. residents and members of Frontier Miles, the airline’s loyalty program, before they purchase the annual membership. If they’re not members, they’ll automatically be enrolled.
“The GoWild! Pass is perfect for spontaneous adventurers, budget-savvy travelers and anyone dreaming of limitless journeys,” Frontier Airlines chief commercial officer Bobby Schroeter said in a statement. “At $299, this is the lowest price we’ve ever offered, making it easier than ever to explore amazing destinations across the U.S., Caribbean, Mexico and Latin America. This limited-time pricing will only be offered to those who act fast!”
Here’s how the “Go Wild!” pass works
Once you purchase the $299 deal, you can book tickets on select Frontier flights for just a penny.
The airline warns that not every flight operated by Frontier is available for booking through the GoWild! pass. Additionally, pass holders must pay any taxes and fees associated with the airfare.
What kind of seat do you get?
GoWild! pass holders cannot reserve seats in advance, nor do their fares include carry-on or checked baggage, although these extras may be purchased separately.
When can I book flights?
The unlimited pass allows travelers to make reservations the day before a flight’s departure for domestic travel, and ten days before an international flight’s departure date.
The pass is valid for travel between May 1, 2025, and April 30, 2026, Frontier said.
There are certain blackout dates around holidays and other busy travel periods, during which the GoWild! Pass cannot be redeemed for a plane ticket. Additionally, pass holders cannot purchase tickets on behalf of other travelers.
The $299 price tag is only available for a limited time, and the pass automatically renews for a fee of $699, according to the airline. The deal expires after 11:59 p.m. MST on Dec. 18, 2024. After that, the passes will still be available, but for $499.
Frontier first offered the annual pass in 2022, which was for travel in 2023. Low-cost carriers have struggled to attract customers of late, as fliers increasingly turn to premium travel offerings, and even legacy carriers introduce new, bare-bones ticket options to compete for budget-conscious customers.
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President-elect Donald Trump fired another salvo in his long-running effort to have his New York criminal conviction tossed, with his attorneys alleging earlier this month that there was juror misconduct during his trial.
In a previously undisclosed Dec. 3 letter to Justice Juan Merchan that was made public Tuesday, Todd Blanche and Emil Bove wrote that there was “grave juror misconduct” in the proceedings in a Manhattan courtroom earlier this year.
However, heavy redactions in the letter and subsequent exchanges with prosecutors obscured almost all information about the accusations themselves.
“The jury in this case was not anywhere near fair and impartial,” they wrote.
Merchan on Tuesday directed Trump to make the redacted letter public, and instructed prosecutors to publish their own redacted responses. The judge also criticized Trump’s lawyers for making such serious allegations without sworn statements.
Prosecutors called the allegations “vague accusations of juror misconduct” in one of their responses. They claimed Trump’s attorneys did not want to have the allegations subject to investigation or a public hearing.
“Notwithstanding the import of their allegations, counsel do not request and in fact oppose a hearing at which their allegations could be fully examined, referring to such a hearing as ‘invasive fact-finding,'” wrote a prosecutor for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Still, they argued such an investigation wasn’t yet appropriate.
“Counsel’s allegations fall far short of the standard required to request such a hearing in any event,” they wrote.
It is unclear if the allegations relate to a June 7 letter from Merchan that alerted prosecutors and Trump’s attorneys to a comment left on the court’s Facebook page the night before Trump’s conviction.
“My cousin is a juror and says Trump is getting convicted,” the user wrote. “Thank you folks for all your hard work!!!!”
The person who made the comment had previously described themselves as a “professional s**tposter.”
Trump was found guilty in May of 34 counts of falsifying business records, connected with a scheme to cover up a “hush money” payment to an adult film star. He pleaded not guilty and is contesting the conviction on multiple fronts.
Frontier Airlines is selling an “all you can fly” pass for 2025. Here’s how the $299 offer works.
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Frontier Airlines is selling an “all you can fly” pass for 2025. Here’s how the $299 offer works.
Court case that could decide control of Minnesota House continues with testimony