The NAR data on sales of existing homes in June shows a decline of 3.3 percent to 4.16 million units at an annual rate after an unrevised 4.30 million units in May. The NAR attributed the slow pace of sales to a lack of available inventory and rising mortgage interest rates. Sales are down 3.4 percent to 3.72 million units for single-family and down 2.2 percent to 440,000.

The total supply of homes available for sale inches up to 3.1 months' worth in June after 3.0 months in May. The mean price of an existing home is up 3.5 percent to $410,200 in June from the prior month and down 0.9 percent from the record high of $413,800 in June 2022."Perhaps home prices are beginning to firm up" or settle, said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.

In June, 33 percent of properties sold above list price which means that at least 1/3 of transactions have multiple offers compared to 50 percent with offers above list price a year ago. Nonetheless,"It is a tough market to be a buyer in the current environment", Yun said. He added, there is no"meaningful difference across price categories."

Yun noted that the gap between the number of existing homes on the market and new homes is now 2 to 1 compared to a more normal situation where there are about 5 existing homes to 1 new home.

The average days on the market is 18 in June and May compared to 14 days in June 2022. This remains a fast market with buyers snapping up units quickly in competition for limited stocks.

Yun summed up that sales are down 23 percent for the first half of 2023 compared to the first half of 2022. He said,"Homes sales are not clicking along with life changing events," like the birth of a child, children changing schools, or other altered circumstances.

After May's 4.30 million annualized rate, existing home sales in June are expected to slip to a 4.23 million rate. The National Association of Realtors has described recent sales as stable within, however, a fast moving market.

Existing home sales tally the number of previously constructed homes, condominiums and co-ops in which a sale closed during the month. Existing homes (also known as home resales) account for a larger share of the market than new homes and indicate housing market trends.

This provides a gauge of not only the demand for housing, but the economic momentum. People have to be feeling pretty comfortable and confident in their own financial position to buy a house. Furthermore, this narrow piece of data has a powerful multiplier effect through the economy, and therefore across the markets and your investments. By tracking economic data such as home resales, investors can gain specific investment ideas as well as broad guidance for managing a portfolio.

Even though home resales don't always create new output, once the home is sold, it generates revenues for the realtor. It brings a myriad of consumption opportunities for the buyer.

Refrigerators, washers, dryers and furniture are just a few items home buyers might purchase. The economic"ripple effect" can be substantial especially when you think a hundred thousand new households around the country are doing this every month. Since the economic backdrop is the most pervasive influence on financial markets, home resales have a direct bearing on stocks, bonds and commodities. In a more specific sense, trends in the existing home sales data carry valuable clues for the stocks of home builders, mortgage lenders and home furnishings companies.