U.S. existing home sales decline in August

Existing home sales dropped 2.5% month-over-month to an annualized rate of 3.86 million units in August, slightly below the market expectation of 3.9 million. This marks a 4.2% decline compared to the same time last year.

Single-family home sales decreased by 2.8% to 3.48 million units, whereas sales in the condo/co-op segment remained unchanged at 380,000 for the third consecutive month.

Sales activity declined in all three Census regions that had previously experienced increases. The South saw a 3.9% month-over-month drop, the West 2.7%, and the Northeast 2.0%. Meanwhile, sales in the Midwest remained unchanged at 920,000 for the third month in a row.     

In August, total housing inventory reached 1.35 million units, an increase of 0.7% from July and 22.7% from the previous year. Seasonally adjusted, unsold inventory represented a supply of 3.9 months, rising from 3.6 months in July and 3.0 months in August 2023.

House prices increased by 3.1% year-over-year, a slowdown from the 3.9% rise seen the previous month. On a seasonally adjusted basis, median home prices rose by 0.3% month-over-month, following a 0.9% increase in the prior month.