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

Source: National Association of Realtors

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.