• Total existing-home sales declined 5.4 percent to 4.37 million in June, however they are up 4.5 percent from a year ago.
• The market is gaining, in part due to pent-up demand among all home buyers and tight inventory throughout the market, but first time home buyers looking for properties in lower price ranges are especially challenged.
• Prices are rising, partly due to fewer distressed homes on the market, up almost 8 percent from a year ago.
• The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $189,400 in June, up 7.9 percent from a year ago.
• June also marks four back-to-back monthly price increases from a year earlier. The last time we saw this was February to May of 2006.

Regional EHS Data

• Regionally, existing-home sales in the Northeast dropped 11.5 percent to an annual pace of 540,000 in June but are 1.9 percent above June 2011. The median price in the Northeast was $253,700, down 1.8 percent from a year ago.
• Existing-home sales in the Midwest slipped 1.9 percent in June to a level of 1.02 million but are 14.6 percent higher than a year ago. The median price in the Midwest was $157,600, up 8.4 percent from June 2011.
• In the South, existing-home sales declined 4.4 percent to an annual pace of 1.73 million in June but are 5.5 percent above June 2011. The median price in the South was $165,000, up 6.6 percent from a year ago.
• Existing-home sales in the West fell 6.9 percent to an annual level of 1.08 million in June and are 3.6 percent below a year ago. The median price in the West was $233,300, up 13.3 percent from May 2011. Given tight supply in both the low and middle price ranges in this region, sales in the West are stronger in the higher price ranges.