Pending home sales rose in June, increasing 0.3% from May, the first monthly increase since February, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Sales in the Northeast and Midwest grew, while the South and West declined. 

"The recovery has not taken place, but the housing recession is over," said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. "The presence of multiple offers implies that housing demand is not being satisfied due to lack of supply. Homebuilders are ramping up production and hiring workers."

Although there has been modest growth in 🥀pending home sales, transactions are still down 15.6🅷% from June 2022. 

Following the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Federal Reserve’s announcement🌜 Wednesday that it would rai🙈se its benchmark interest rate by a quarter-point to the highest in 22 years, t༺he NAR released new predictions for mortgage rates through the end of the year. 

The group anticipates rates will drop to 6.4% before the end of the year and steadily decline to 6% through 2024. T🃏he group anticipates the unemployment rate will rise slightly to 3.7% before the end of the year, and reach 4.1% in 2024. 

"With consumer price inflation calming close to the Federal Reserve's desired conditions, mortgage rates look to have topped out," Yun added. "Given the ongoing job additions, any meaningful decline in mortgage rates could lead to a rush of buyers later in the year and into the next."

What to Expect for the Rest of the Year

With 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:mortgage rates being the main driver of market activity, NAR predicts a decline in sales on an annual basis by the𒀰 end of the year. 

The group anticipate🐼s that existing-home sales will drop 12.9% in 2023 from 202𒆙2, with sales at 4.38 million, before climbing 15.5% to 5.06 million in 2024. 

The national median existing-home sale price is expected to remain steady on an annual basis, declining 0.4% to $384,000 before recovering 2.6% in 2024 to $395,000.

"It is critical to expand supply as much as possible to widen access to homebuying for more Americans," Yun said. "Home prices will be influenced by how much inventory is brought to market. Increased homebuilding will tame price growth, while limited construction will lead to home price appreciation outpacing income growth." 

The group expects 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:housing starts to drop 5.3% year-over-year by the end of 2🔯023 before increasing by 5.4% in 2024. On a year-over-year basis, newly constructed home sales are expected to increase 12.3% by the end of 2023. NAR expects another 13.9% increase in 2024, with an estimated 820,000 newly-built homes for sale. 

The national median new home pric🍷e is expected to dec𝕴rease by 1.9% in 2023 to $449,100 and then gain 4.2% in 2024 to $468,000.