U.S. existing home sales slide again; prices hit fresh record high

U.S. existing home sales fell for a fifth straight month in June to the lowest level in two years, as fast-rising interest rates and record-high selling prices make buying a home too expensive for a growing share of American households.

Mortgage interest rates have soared as a result of the Federal Reserve's stiff rate hikes to try to tame high inflation. That has driven a new buyer's monthly payment up by more than 50% in the first six months of 2022 by some estimates and has had a clear effect on home sales that had surged during the COVID-19 pandemic to the highest levels since the mid-2000s.

In June, sales of previously owned homes fell 5.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.12 million units, the lowest level since June 2020 when sales were rebounding from the COVID-19 lockdown slump, the National Association of Realtors said on Wednesday. Sales have now fallen each month since January.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast sales would decrease to a rate of 5.38 million units. Sales were unchanged in the Northeast and fell in the Midwest, the West and South.