Nationwide, sales hit their highest level of the year, rising 4.7% from June but falling 17.6% on a year-over-year basis, RE/MAX said. 

July saw the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index post its second-largest monthly drop ever, as worries about housing affordability dampened builder sentiment. 

High mortgage rates and increased prices are keeping homebuyers on the sidelines.

About 14.9% of home-purchase agreements nationwide fell through in June, the highest percentage in more than two years.

Today buyers are finding more inventory, slowing price growth, competition declines and dropping mortgage rates.

Beantown remains the most expensive rental market among the largest metros in the U.S. by population.

The number of homes available to buyers climbed 18.7% in June, the sharpest year-over-year increase in the history of the report.

Median sales prices also grew as pending sales declined in May.

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Limited inventory and fierce competition continued to add upward pressure to prices in the Bay State.

The increase ends a six-month string of monthly declines, the National Association of REALTORS® said.

New-home inventory rose to 444,000 homes in May from 437,000 homes in April, the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reported.  

The hit to affordability has lessened demand, eased price growth, slowed sales and boosted inventory

Dawn Ruffini, MAR president, said the biggest issue the market is facing is the shortage of houses. 

Meanwhile, existing-home sales slid 3.4% from April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.41 million, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. 

Realtor.com’s updated 2022 forecast sees housing demand returning to pre-pandemic levels.