Dive Brief:

• Fewer homes were available for sale in June than a year ago, online real estate company Zillow reported on Thursday.

• A dwindling inventory of the lowest-priced homes — those attractive to first-time homebuyers —accounted for most of the decline, the report said. The supply of those homes declined in 28 of the 35 largest U.S. metros.

• By comparison, inventory of the highest-priced homes fell in 10 of the nation’s largest cities. Overall, 6.5% fewer homes were listed for sale on Zillow last month than in June 2014.

Dive Insight:

If the inventory of homes for sale depletes much further, homebuying could come to “a screeching halt,” Zillow’s chief economist, Stan Humphries, said in a release.

The inability to find a home to buy exacerbates the already-difficult homebuying process, which includes saving for down payments and qualifying for mortgages in a tight credit market, Humphries noted.

And a slim stock of homes for sale is a catalyst for increasingly high rents, which rose 4.3% from year-ago levels. Low inventory also drives up for-sale home prices.

In fact, the Zillow report said home values nationwide rose last month by 0.3% from May and by 3.3% from June 2014. The median U.S. home price in June was $180,100 — another challenge for potential buyers, especially first-timers.