U.S. Existing Home Sales Fell in August
by:Sandy Batten
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
- Second lowest level since October 2010.
- Sales fell in the South, West, and Northeast, while the Midwest registered no change.
- The median price fell for the second consecutive month, but from a record high in June.
Sales of existing homes fell 2.5% m/m (-4.2% y/y) in August to 3.86 million units at an annual rate. This was the second lowest level of sales since October 2010 and the fifth monthly decline in the past six months as elevated mortgage interest rates, high prices and the lack of supply continue to plague the housing market. The Action Economics Forecast Survey expected August sales of 3.90 million units. The sales figures are based on closings of sales signed over the past couple of months.
The median price of all existing homes (NSA) eased 1.1% m/m in August (+3.1% y/y) to $416,700, its second consecutive monthly decline after having risen to a record $426,900 in June. Prices remained almost twice their level of $221,600 ten years ago. The median price of an existing single-family home fell 1.2% m/m to $422,100 in August. The median price for condos and co-ops edged down 0.2% m/m to $366,500. Existing home prices fell in every major region in August: -0.4% m/m in the Northeast, -1.8% m/m in the Midwest, -0.7% m/m in the South, and -1.1% m/m in the West.
Sales of single-family homes fell 2.8% m/m (-3.3% y/y) in August following a 1.7% monthly gain in July. Sales were unchanged in the Midwest but fell in the other three regions (-2.4% in Northeast, -4.3% in the South, and -3.0% in the West). Sales of condos and co-ops were unchanged in both August and July with sales unchanged in each major region in August.
The number of existing homes for sale (NSA) rose 0.7% m/m (22.7% y/y) to 1.35 million in August after rising 1.5% in July. The supply of homes on the market at the current selling rate (NSA) edged up to 4.2 months in August from 4.1% in both June and July. This figure has generally risen since February. The record low in supply of 1.6 months was reached in January 2022. These figures date back to January 1999.
The data on existing home sales, prices and affordability are compiled by the National Association of Realtors. The data on single-family home sales extend back to February 1968. Total sales and price data and regional sales can be found in Haver's USECON database. Regional price and affordability data and national inventory data are available in the REALTOR database. Mortgage interest rates can be found in the WEEKLY database. The expectations figure is from the Action Economics Forecast Survey, reported in the AS1REPNA database.
Sandy Batten
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Sandy Batten has more than 30 years of experience analyzing industrial economies and financial markets and a wide range of experience across the financial services sector, government, and academia. Before joining Haver Analytics, Sandy was a Vice President and Senior Economist at Citibank; Senior Credit Market Analyst at CDC Investment Management, Managing Director at Bear Stearns, and Executive Director at JPMorgan. In 2008, Sandy was named the most accurate US forecaster by the National Association for Business Economics. He is a member of the New York Forecasters Club, NABE, and the American Economic Association. Prior to his time in the financial services sector, Sandy was a Research Officer at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Senior Staff Economist on the President’s Council of Economic Advisors, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy at the US Treasury, and Economist at the International Monetary Fund. Sandy has taught economics at St. Louis University, Denison University, and Muskingun College. He has published numerous peer-reviewed articles in a wide range of academic publications. He has a B.A. in economics from the University of Richmond and a M.A. and Ph.D. in economics from The Ohio State University.
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