Existing-home sales declined 2.5 percent in August. The supply of homes for sale increased slightly to 4.2 months.
Five Key Highlights
- Existing-home sales fell 2.5% in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.86 million
- Sales are down 4.2 percent from a year ago and are down 39 percent from the cycle high of 6.34 million in January of 2022.
- The median existing-home sales price fell from $421,400 to $416,700.
- For the the 14th consecutive month, the median price is higher than a year ago.
- Unsold inventory sits at a 4.2-month supply at the current sales pace, up from 3.3 months a year ago.
Existing-Home Sales Percent Change from Month Ago
Existing-Home Sales Supply
The supply of homes is the highest in over four years.
Existing-Home Sales Percent Change from Year Ago
Sales were falling so fast that year-over-year numbers were increasingly easy to beat. But things reversed lower after getting to -1.7 percent year-over-year.
From a year ago sales are down 2.5 percent. Sales are down 39 percent from the January 2022 high.
Existing-Home Sales 1968-Present
I repeated last months chart. The August 2024 sales are 3.86 million seasonally adjusted annualized.
Existing-home sales are below the level of December 1995 and also May 1979.
Adjusted for population, these are abysmal numbers.
Stronger than Expected Housing Starts
Yesterday, I noted Stronger than Expected Housing Report in August, Especially Completions
New home sales for August have not yet been released.