The National
Association of Realtors (NAR) reported on Thursday that the U.S. existing home
sales declined 2.5 per cent m-o-m to a seasonally adjusted rate of 3.86 million
in August from an upwardly revised 3.96 million (from 3.95 million) in July.
Economists had predicted
home re-sales decelerating to a 3.90 million-unit pace last month.
In y-o-y terms, existing home sales decreased 4.2 per cent in August.
According to
the report, three out of four major
regions - the South (-3.9 per cent m-o-m), West (-2.7 per cent m-o-m),
and Northeast (-2.0 per cent m-o-m) - demonstrated drops on a m-o-m basis, while the Midwest remained unchanged.
In y-o-y terms, existing home sales decreased in the South (-6.0 per cent), Midwest (-5.2 per cent) and West (-1.4 per cent m-o-m) but were flat in the Northeast.
Over the
reviewed period, the median existing-home price for all housing types soared 3.1
per cent y-o-y to $416,700, reflecting price gains in all four U.S. regions.
This was the 14th straight month of year-over-year increases in median
existing-home price.
Single-family
home sales came in at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 3.48 million in August,
down 2.8 per cent m-o-m and 3.3 per cent y-o-y. Meanwhile, existing condominium and co-op sales were registered
at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 380,000 units in August, unchanged m-o-m and down11.6 per cent y-o-y.
Commenting on
the latest data, Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, noted that home sales were
disappointing again in August, but assumed that the recent development of lower
mortgage rates coupled with increasing inventory is a powerful combination that
would provide the environment for sales to move higher in future months. “The
home-buying process, from the initial search to getting the house keys,
typically takes several months,” he added.