Following a 3.2 percent drop in July, the seasonally adjusted pace of existing-home sales in the U.S. ticked down another 0.9 percent to an annual rate of 5.38 million sales in August. But the current rate, which represents the second slowest pace since the beginning of the year, remains 0.8 percent higher versus the same time last year.
At the same time, the median resale price for an existing home was $240,200 last month, down 2.8 percent ($6,900) from July but remains 5.1 percent higher versus the same time last year ($228,500), while the inventory of unsold homes on the market ticked down 3.3 percent to 2.04 million homes at the end of August and is running 10.1 percent lower on a year-over-year basis (as opposed to 26 percent higher in San Francisco).
In the West, the pace of sales ticked down 1.6 percent from July to August but remains 0.8 percent higher versus the same time last year.
This data comes from the National Association of Realtors:
“Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says existing sales fell off track in July after steadily climbing the last four months. “Severely restrained inventory and the tightening grip it’s putting on affordability is the primary culprit for the considerable sales slump throughout much of the country last month,” he said. “Realtors® are reporting diminished buyer traffic because of the scarce number of affordable homes on the market, and the lack of supply is stifling the efforts of many prospective buyers attempting to purchase while mortgage rates hover at historical lows.”
Adds Yun, “Furthermore, with new condo construction barely budging and currently making up only a small sliver of multi-family construction, sales suffered last month as condo buyers faced even stiffer supply constraints than those looking to purchase a single-family home.”
“The median price in the West was $346,100, which is 6.4 percent above July 2015.”
“Properties typically stayed on the market for 36 days in July, up from 34 days in June but down from 42 days a year ago.”