The monthly index released by the National Association of Realtors on Thursday showed that pending home sales rose 0.3 per cent in June from a year earlier.

The figure exceeded Wall Street's expectations. Economists expected pending home sales to fall 0.5 percent in June.

Compared to last year, sales are still down 15.6%.

Pending home sales reflect transactions that are under contract for the sale of an existing home but have not yet closed. Economists see this as an indicator of where existing home sales will go in the coming months.

As homeowners locked into interest rates hold off on selling their homes, real estate agents look to homebuilders to fill the gap.

New home sales surged in May, and while the momentum waned in June, the overall trend remains upward.

New home prices, often seen as more expensive, are also falling. The gap between median new and existing home prices narrowed in June, according to data from NAR and the federal government.

Words from a real estate expert "The economic recovery hasn't happened yet, but the real estate recession is over," said Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist." The emergence of multiple offers means that housing demand is not being met due to a lack of supply.

NAR also said it expects the average rate on a 30-year mortgage to be 6.4 per cent this year, falling to 6 per cent in 2024.

NAR also expects existing home sales to fall 12.9 per cent from the previous year to 4.38 million in 2023, before recovering to 5.06 million in 2024.

The organisation also expects home prices to remain stable this year, falling only slightly by 0.4 per cent to $384,900, before rising 2.6 per cent to $395,000 next year.

Prices in the West - the most expensive region in the country - will decline, while the less expensive Midwest could see a small positive increase, Cloud added.