US home sales fell due to record high real estate prices

Продажи домов в США неожиданно упали в июне — это уже третий подряд ежемесячный спад в результате рекордного повышения цен на жилье, возникшего в результате постоянного дефицита на рынке недвижимости.

Photo: depositphotos.com

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that the housing market is lagging behind the apparent acceleration of economic growth in the second quarter, writes Reuters. And while supply restrictions explain the decline in sales, there is a growing concern among specialists that high housing prices and rising mortgage rates will lead to a decrease in demand.

According to NAR, home sales fell by 0,6% to 5,38 million units last month. The pace of sales in May declined to 5,41 million units compared to previously registered 5,43 millions. Economists, who turned to Reuters, predicted housing growth in June at 0,5 percent. Sales actually increased in the northeast of the country and in the Midwest, but fell in its western part, where a sharp increase in prices was observed, as well as in the southern United States, where most of the houses were sold.

Current home sales, which account for about 90 percent of all US sales, fell 2,2 percent in June compared to last year’s data. This was due to the acute shortage of houses on the market. The rising cost of building materials, shortage of land and labor also led to higher prices. The average home price rose 5,2 percent over last year and reached a record high of 276 900 US dollars in June. This month was the 76 consecutive month of year-on-year price increases.

According to the Freddie Mac mortgage finance agency, the 30-year mortgage rate was about 4,52 percent, in contrast to the growth in annual wages, which is kept below 3 percent.

Watching the economy

Weak sales in June mean a slight increase in broker commissions in the second quarter. Economists expect little or no contribution from the real estate industry to the country's gross domestic product this quarter. Growth estimates for the period from April to June reach 5,2 percent on an annualized basis. In the first quarter, the economy grew by 2 percent, and housing investment declined.

Особенно ощутимо снизились жилищные поставки в нижнем сегменте рынка — здесь продажи в июне уменьшились на 18% по сравнению с прошлым годом. В июне на рынке было 1,95 миллиона объектов вторичной недвижимости, это на 0,5% больше, чем год назад. Несмотря на это, предложение остается очень скудным. Для исчерпания текущих запасов на рынке потребуется 4,3 месяца, по сравнению с 4,1 месяцами в мае (для сравнения, здоровый баланс между спросом и предложением подразумевает срок в 6-7 месяцев).

Дома для продажи, как правило, оставались на рынке в течение 26 дней в апреле-июне, по сравнению с 28 днями год назад. 58% проданных в июне домов были на рынке менее месяца. Вклад первичных покупателей в прошлом месяце не изменился — 31%. Снижение жилищного фонда, вероятно, будет продолжаться, и дефицит предложения вряд ли скоро снизится.

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