U.S. Existing Home Sales Slump To Ten-Month Low In August

(RTTNews) - The National Association of Realtors released a report on Thursday showing a sharp pullback by U.S. existing home sales in the month of August.

NAR said existing home sales tumbled by 2.5 percent to an annual rate of 3.86 million in August after jumping by 1.3 percent to an annual rate of 3.95 million in July. Economists had expected existing home sales to slump by 1.3 percent to a rate of 3.90 million.

With the bigger than expected decrease, existing home sales fell to their lowest level since hitting an annual rate of 3.85 million last October.

"Home sales were disappointing again in August, but the recent development of lower mortgage rates coupled with increasing inventory is a powerful combination that will provide the environment for sales to move higher in future months," said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.

He added, "The home-buying process, from the initial search to getting the house keys, typically takes several months."

The report said housing inventory at the end of August totaled 1.35 million units, up 0.7 percent from 1.34 million units in July and up 22.7 percent from 1.10 million units a year ago.

The unsold inventory represents 4.2 months of supply at the current sales pace compared to 4.1 months in July and 3.3 months in August 2023.

NAR also said the median existing home price was $416,700 in August, up 3.1 percent from $404,200 in the same month last year.

Next Wednesday, the Commerce Department is scheduled to release its report on new home sales in the month of August.