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Sales are down 0.2 percent on the month and nowhere for years.
 

The NAR reports Existing-Home Sales Decline 0.2 Percent in August.

Six Key Highlights

• Existing-home sales fall 0.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.00 million.
• Sales are up 1.8% year-over-year.
• Median existing-home price for all housing types is $422,600 the 26th consecutive month of year-over-year price increases.
• Total housing inventory is down 1.3% from July and increased 11.7% from August 2024.
• Supply is 4.6 months at the current monthly sales pace.
• Sales are down 36.9 percent from the cycle high of 6.34 million in January of 2022.

Lawrence Yun, NAR Chief Economist Comments

“Home sales have been sluggish over the past few years due to elevated mortgage rates and limited inventory,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “However, mortgage rates are declining and more inventory is coming to the market, which should boost sales in the coming months.”

“Record-high housing wealth and a record-high stock market will help current homeowners trade up and benefit the upper end of the market. However, sales of affordable homes are constrained by the lack of inventory,” Yun added. “The Midwest was the best-performing region last month, primarily due to relatively affordable market conditions. The median home price in the Midwest is 22 percent below the national median price.”

Hoot of the Day

Yun is now betting on a rising stock market to boost sales. But homes are still ridiculously priced, and most won’t sell stocks to buy a home.

Existing-Home Sales Percent Change from Year Ago
 

With sales flatlining, year-over-year numbers will bounce around zero.

Existing-home sales Median Sales Price
 

It makes little sense to not seasonally adjust prices, but that is what’s available.

Prices peak in June every year, so we can expect strong declines over the next six months.

I believe the post-COVID top is in for quite some time.

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