Existing-home sales vary from region to region, but down slightly nationwide

Only one region saw an increase in existing-home sales in August, but one other region remained unchanged from July and the other two were only down slightly. Taken together, existing-home sales were down 0.7% nationally, according to a report from the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). Compared to August of last year, sales were down 15.3%, which is the smallest annual decline of the last 12 months.

• Northeast: Unchanged at 0.0%, an annual rate of 480,000, down 22.6% from August 2022
• Midwest: Up 1.0% to an annual rate of 970,000, down 16.4% from August 2022
• South: Down 1.1% to an annual rate of 1,840,000, down 12.4% from August 2022
• West: Down 2.6% with an annual rate of 750,000, down 15.7% from August 2022

Home sales have been stable for several months, neither rising nor falling in any meaningful way," said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. "Mortgage rate changes will have a big impact over the short run, while job gains will have a steady, positive impact over the long run. The South had a lighter decline in sales from a year ago due to greater regional job growth since coming out of the pandemic lockdown." Find out how mortgage rates are trending this week.

Seasonal trends

While month-over-month numbers as well as year-over-year numbers were down in August, the amount of the decline was among the smallest it has been all year. This suggests that the factors that have been affecting the market have been fairly stubborn at the end of the summer, a season that usually sees an uptick in home sales.

Inventory stuck, driving prices up

Total housing inventory in August was down 0.9% to 1.1 million units. A year ago, there were 1.28 million units for sale, marking a 14.1% decline this year. The lack of homes for sale continues to cause home prices to rise, a sad refrain we’ve been hearing now for over a year.

"Home prices continue to march higher despite lower home sales," Yun said. "Supply needs to essentially double to moderate home price gains."

The median existing-home price stayed above $400,000 for the third month in a row, a level once hard to imagine that has now become customary. In August it registered an increase of 3.9% from August of 2022

This month’s data shows just how important it is to work with local experts who can help you navigate what’s going on in the market in your part of the country. This includes a local loan officer who can help you make best decision about when is the right time for you to buy a home.

Source: https://www.nar.realtor/newsroom/existing-home-sales-decreased-0-7-in-august