US home prices continued to reach record highs in June, though signs of a gradual slowdown were appearing.

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller US National Home Price NSA Index, covering all nine US census divisions, rose 5.4% year over year in June, down from a 5.9% annual gain in May.

The 10-City Composite increased 7.4% year over year in June, compared to a 7.8% annual gain in the previous month. The 20-City Composite rose 6.5% year over year, down from a 6.9% year-over-year gain in May.

Home price gains moderated in June as buyers remained off the market while housing inventory growth increased.

The number of homes actively available for sale grew 36.7% year over year in June, an eighth consecutive month of growth, according to a report by Realtor.com.

During the month, 6.3% more homes were newly listed on the market compared with 2023. While listings were up, buyers were hesitant to enter the market due to higher mortgage rates, resulting in home price declines. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index for June tracked a 12-month period starting June 2023, during which the 30-year borrowing costs remained near 7%.

The indexes continue to show "above-trend real price performance when accounting for inflation," said Brian Luke, head of commodities, real and digital assets at S&P Dow Jones Indices, in an Aug. 27 release.

"While both housing and inflation have slowed, the gap between the two is larger than historical norms, with our National Index averaging 2.8% more than the Consumer Price Index. That is a full percentage point above the 50-year average," Luke said.

On a monthly basis, the US National Index rose 0.2% in June after seasonal adjustment, down from 0.3% in May. The 20-City and 10-City Composite reported a monthly change of 0.4% and 0.5%, respectively.

New York again was No. 1 among the top 20 cities with the highest annual home price gain of 9.0%, followed by San Diego with an 8.7% increase and Las Vegas up 8.5%. Portland, Ore., again posted the smallest year-over-year growth, notching a 0.8% annual increase in June.

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Home sales improve in July

Existing and new home sales across most US regions rose on a monthly basis.

Following four consecutive monthly declines, existing home sales nationwide increased 1.3% in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.95 million units. Still, sales fell 2.5% year over year, according to data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

On a month-over-month basis, three of four US regions logged increases in existing home sales, with the Northeast logging the highest gain at 4.3%. The Northeast and West registered year-over-year increases in existing home sales, while the Midwest and South logged declines.

Total housing inventory at the end of July was up 0.8% from June and up 19.8% from one year ago, according to the NAR data.

"Despite the modest gain, home sales are still sluggish," said Lawrence Yun, chief economist at NAR, in an Aug. 22 release. "But consumers are definitely seeing more choices, and affordability is improving due to lower interest rates."

Nationwide, new home sales rose 10.6% month over month and 5.6% year over year to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 739,000 units, according to data from the US Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

All four US regions registered increases in new home sales on a yearly and monthly basis, with the West posting the highest monthly growth rate at 33.8%.

Top mortgage lender

Pontiac, Mich.-based UWM Holdings Corp. was the top US residential mortgage lender with $34.51 billion in mortgages originated in the year through May, a 9.5% increase year over year, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.

Total residential mortgages originated year to date as of May stood at $825.88 billion, up 1.2% year over year.