Existing-Home Sales Down in August as Buyers Await Additional Inventory

Existing-home sales declined in August after two consecutive months of growth, even as median prices fell to a three-month low. VNQ is up 1.16%

Total existing-home sales stood at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.88 million in August, down 2.0% from 6 million the previous month and 1.5% from 5.970 million a year ago.
The South registered 2.550 million, the Midwest with 1.370 million, the West with 1.230 million, and the northeast with 730,000.
NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun attributed the decline to buyers waiting for more inventory and measuring out their financial capacity.
Total inventory stood at 1.29 million units, down 1.5% from July and 13.4% lower than the same month last year.
Unsold inventory reflects a 2.6-month supply, unchanged from the previous month. This is 3 month’s worth recorded in August 2020.
The median existing-home sales price was at $356,700, marking the 114th straight month of year-on-year gains. This is the lowest in three months since May’s $350,400.

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