Home prices driving more Americans out of the market

Americans are pumping the brakes on home purchases even as — or perhaps because — prices have hit new record highs.

Driving the news: Existing-home sales fell for the fifth straight month in June, declining 5.4% from May and 14.2% from a year earlier, the National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday.

Meanwhile, mortgage applications fell 6.3% last week, compared with the previous week, hitting their lowest point since 2000, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday.

The median sales price of existing homes was up 13.4% year-over-year to $416,000, an all-time high.

Why it matters: Homeownership is one of the primary means through which Americans build wealth and ensure their financial sustainability across economic cycles.

The big picture: With consumer confidence hitting an all-time low in June and the Fed poised to hike interest rates further amid runaway inflation, the cost of homeownership is driving more people out of the market.