SEATTLE – Home sales jumped in June and mortgage costs fell further below last year’s levels, offering some hope for a mild sales recovery this year, according to Zillow’s June Market Report.

Sales climbed 9.2% from May and are now 5.9% above year-ago levels, a trend reversal after sales fell on an annual basis in May. Affordability continued to improve, as well, with the cost of a typical mortgage down 2.5% from last year, before taxes and insurance. Mortgage rates are driving the improvement, down more than 20 basis points since last year, according to Freddie Mac. The typical U.S. home value of $372,057 is up just 1.1% from a year ago.

In another reversal from May, new listings rose 3% year-over-year, a sign that there may yet be some life left in this year’s home shopping season. Total inventory rose again on a year-over-year basis, extending a long streak of gains. But the gain was just 0.9%, the smallest since December 2023.

“The market wrestled with some uncertainty throughout the spring shopping season, but mortgage rates declining from their midspring peak has added some extra heat as we head into an already toasty summer,” said Mischa Fisher, chief economist at Zillow. “While the lowest price tiers are exhibiting some softness in terms of price, they also had the most listing-activity growth, the first time since 2022 that’s been the case. While the divergence in sale price is notably ‘k-shaped,’ affordability gains did continue in June.”

According to the report:

  • The typical U.S. home value is $372,057.
  • The monthly mortgage payment on a typical U.S. home is $1,884, assuming a 20% down payment and excluding taxes and insurance. That is 2.5% lower than last year.
  • There were 1.39 million homes for sale nationwide in June.
  • 381,125 homes were sold in June, according to the preliminary Zillow sales count nowcast. That is 5.9% higher than a year earlier and up 9.2% from May. 
  • Newly pending listings, which measures listings that changed from for-sale to pending status rather than closed sales, shows 7.6% growth from a year earlier and a 1.5% decrease from May.