New-vehicle prices appear to have finally left pandemic-era highs behind, as the average year-over-year price gain in June was the smallest since Covid took hold.

The 1.6% increase in the average transaction price to $48,808, which is actually down 1.7% from January, the biggest fall in the first six months of the year in the past decade, said Cox Automotive.

The development is a stark contrast from just a year earlier, when transaction prices were elevated by 12% year-over-year, Cox said. And the smallest year-over-year increase in 2022 was 4.2%.

Revived inventories have brought about the turn of events.

“A year ago, the industry was looking at transaction prices that were consistently up 10% to 12% year over year. With no inventory in place, it was inflation gone wild,” said Cox Executive Analyst Michelle Krebs. “Now, as inventory has been consistently building and supply and demand are finding a balance, the price gains seem to be well under control.”

Automakers’ incentive expenses rose for the ninth month in a row to the greatest amount since October 2021, for an average of $2,048, or 4.2% of the average transaction price, Cox said. That compares to 2.3% a year earlier.

June’s average transaction price was $345 under manufacturers’ suggested retail price, down dramatically from the $698 above MSRP a year earlier, said Cox, which indicated that new-vehicle sales volume was its highest since May 2021.

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