By Dilara Zengin
WASHINGTON (AA) - House prices in the US increased despite high mortgage interest rates and home sales slowed down.
Existing home sales in the US decreased by 5.4% on a monthly basis to 3.89 million in June, seasonally adjusted, according to National Association of Realtors (NAR) data.
Record home prices and high mortgage interest rates contributed to the decline in home sales for four consecutive months.
New home sales in the country decreased by 0.6% on a monthly basis in June due to high house prices and mortgage interest rates, recording its lowest level since November 2023, according to the US Department of Commerce data.
While the median selling price of new homes in the US last month stood at $417,300, existing home prices rose 4.1 % annually to $426,900 in June, reaching an all-time high for the second month in a row.
Housing prices across the country increased by 4.0% annually in June, according to real estate website Redfin's data.
During the same period, the number of homes sold fell 11.8% and the number of homes for sale rose 14.3%, data showed.
The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index rose 6.4% year-on-year in April and 5.9% in May, due to a shortage of housing supply, analysts say.
- House prices rise in four US regions
The median house price in the western region increased by 3.5% annually to $629,800 in June, while second-hand house sales remained flat at $740,000.
Northeast region's median house price rose 9.7% annually to $521,500 in June, while home sales fell 6% year-on-year to $470,000 in the same period.
Meanwhile, the median house price in the southern region climbed 1.7% annually to $373,000 in June, while home sales fell 6.9% year-on-year to $1.76 million in the same period.
Lastly, in the Midwestern states, median home prices rose 5.5% annually to $327,100 in June, while home sales fell 6.1% year-on-year to $920,000 in June.
- Most expensive state California, least one Iowa
Median house price in California, the state with the highest median house price in the US, increased by 7.7% annually and recorded as $857,800 in June.
Also, in Hawaii, which showed the highest increase in median house prices, it recorded as $821,900 in June with an increase of 16.1% annually.
The median house price in the US recorded as $679,100 in Massachusetts, $650,200 in Washington, $607,400 in Colorado, $573,800 in New York, $551,300 in Utah, $550,100 in New Jersey, $527,800 in Oregon and $521,000 in Rhode Island in June.
On the other hand, Iowa, the state with the lowest median house price in the US, experienced an annual increase of 4% in June and was recorded as $248,500.
In states such as West Virginia, Oklahoma, Ohio, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Dakota, Missouri, Alabama and Kansas, median house prices remained below $300,000 in June.
However, while only three states in the US showed an annual decrease in June, these were 12.9% in Wyoming, 1.1% in Texas and 0.57% in South Dakota.
*Writing by Sahika Malkoc from Istanbul