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NAR Existing-Home Sales Report shows 0.2% decrease in August GLOBE NEWSWIRE
“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.”
Median Sales Price in August $422,600: Median existing-home price for all housing, up 2.0% from one year ago ($414,200) — the 26th consecutive month of year-over-year increases.
REALTORS CONFIDENCE INDEX FOR AUGUST • 31 days: Median time on market for properties, up from 28 days last month and 26 days in August 2024. • 28% of sales were first-time SINGLE-FAMILY AND homebuyers, unchanged from July CONDO/CO-OP SALES and up from 26% in August 2024. Single-Family Homes in August • 28% of transactions were cash sales, • 0.3% decrease in sales to a seasonally down from 31% a month ago and up adjusted annual rate of 3.63 million, up from 26% in August 2024. 2.5% from August 2024. • 21% of transactions were individual • $427,800: Median home price in August, investors or second-home buyers, up up 1.9% from last year. slightly from 20% last month and 19% in August 2024. Condominiums and Co-ops in August • 2% of sales were distressed sales • No change month-over-month; sales (foreclosures and short sales), remain at a seasonally adjusted annual unchanged from July and up rate of 370,000 units, down 5.1% yearslightly from 1% in August 2024. over-year. • $366,800: Median price, up 0.6% from Mortgage rates August 2024. • 6.59%: The average 30-year fixedrate mortgage in August, according to REGIONAL SNAPSHOT Freddie Mac, down from 6.72% in July FOR EXISTING-HOME and 6.50% one year ago. SALES IN AUGUST Northeast Existing-home sales, which • 4.0% decrease in sales month-overinclude single-family, townhomes, month to an annual rate of 480,000, condominiums and co-ops, are based down 2.0% year-over-year. on transaction closings from Multiple • $534,200: Median price, up 6.2% from Listing Services. Changes in sales trends August 2024. outside of MLSs are not captured in the monthly series. NAR benchmarks home Midwest sales periodically using other sources • 2.1% increase in sales month-overto assess overall home sales trends, month to an annual rate of 960,000, up including sales not reported by MLSs. NATIONAL SNAPSHOT 3.2% year-over-year. Existing-home sales, based on Total Existing-Home Sales for August • $330,500: Median price, up 4.5% from closings, differ from the U.S. Census • 0.2% decrease in total existingAugust 2024. Bureau’s series on new single-family home sales month-over-month to home sales, which are based on a seasonally adjusted annual rate South contracts or the acceptance of a deposit. of4.0 million. • 1.1% decrease in sales month-overBecause of these differences, it is not • 1.8% increase in sales yearmonth to an annual rate of 1.83 million, uncommon for each series to move in over-year. up 3.4% year-over-year. different directions in the same month. • $364,100: Median price, up 0.4% from In addition, existing-home sales, which Inventory in August August 2024. account for more than 90% of total • 1.53 million units: Total housing home sales, are based on a much larger inventory, down 1.3% from July and West data sample — about 40% of multiple up 11.7% from August 2024 • 1.4% increase in sales month-overlisting service data each month — and (1.37 million). month to an annual rate of 730,000, typically are not subject to large prior• 4.6-month supply of unsold inventory, down 1.4% year-over-year. month revisions. no change from July and up from 4.2 • $624,300: Median price, up 0.6% from The annual rate for a particular month months in August 2024. August 2024. represents what the total number of Existing-home sales remained essentially the same in August, ticking down by 0.2% from July, according to the National Association of Realtors Existing-Home Sales Report. The Report provides the real estate ecosystem, including agents and homebuyers and sellers, with data on the level of home sales, price and inventory. Month-over-month sales increased in the Midwest and West and fell in the Northeast and South. Year-over-year, sales rose in the Midwest and South and fell in the Northeast and West. “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 bestperforming region last month, primarily due to relatively affordable market conditions. The median home price in the Midwest is 22% below the national median price.”
L I M I T E D
actual sales for a year would be if the relative pace for that month were maintained for 12 consecutive months. Seasonally adjusted annual rates are used in reporting monthly data to factor out seasonal variations in resale activity. For example, home sales volume is normally higher in the summer than in the winter, primarily because of differences in the weather and family buying patterns. However, seasonal factors cannot compensate for abnormal weather patterns. Single-family data collection began monthly in 1968, while condo data collection began quarterly in 1981; the series were combined in 1999 when monthly collection of condo data began. Prior to this period, single-family homes accounted for more than nine out of 10 purchases. Historic comparisons for total home sales prior to 1999 are based on monthly single-family sales, combined with the corresponding quarterly sales rate for condos. Total inventory and month’s supply data are available back through 1999, while single-family inventory and month’s supply are available back to 1982 (prior to 1999, single-family sales accounted for more than 90% of transactions and condos were
measured only on a quarterly basis). The median price is where half sold for more and half sold for less; medians are more typical of market conditions than average prices, which are skewed higher by a relatively small share of upper-end transactions. The only valid comparisons for median prices are with the same period a year earlier due to seasonality in buying patterns. Month-to-month comparisons do not compensate for seasonal changes, especially for the timing of family buying patterns. Changes in the composition of sales can distort median price data. Yearago median and mean prices sometimes are revised in an automated process if additional data is received. The national median condo/co-op price often is higher than the median single-family home price because condos are concentrated in higher-cost housing markets. However, in a given area, single-family homes typically sell for more than condos as seen in NAR’s quarterly metro area price reports. Distressed sales (foreclosures and short sales), days on market, firsttime buyers, all-cash transactions and investors are from a monthly survey for the NAR’s Realtors Confidence Index, posted at nar.realtor.
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