The seasonally adjusted pace of existing-home sales in the U.S. dropped 1.8 percent in August and is running 5.3 percent lower on a year-over-year basis versus 4.3 percent lower in July, with “a marked decline in all-cash sales” and investor activity.
At the same time, the inventory of unsold homes on the market across the U.S. is running 4.5 percent higher than at the same time last year.
And while spinning the decline as an opportunity for first-time buyers who “have a better chance of purchasing a home now that bidding wars are receding and supply constraints have significantly eased in many parts of the country,” the share of first-time buyers last month remained unchanged from the month before at 29 percent.
Existing-home sale in the West dropped 5.1 percent last month to an annual rate of 1.11 million in August, 9.8 percent lower on a year-over-year basis.