Existing-home sales in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.35 million, a 1.7 percent slide from July’s rate of 5.44 million, according to the National Association of Realtors.
This is the fourth time in five months that existing-home sales have shown a month-over-month decrease, despite economic indicators such as steady employment gains, rising incomes and low mortgage rates that generated sustained buyer interest, said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun in a statement.
“What’s ailing the housing market and continues to weigh on overall sales is the inadequate levels of available inventory and the upward pressure it’s putting on prices in several parts of the country,” he said. “Sales have been unable to break out because there are simply not enough homes for sale.”
Existing-home sales in the Northeast rose 10.8 percent in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 720,000. In the Midwest, existing-home sales rose 2.4 percent to a rate of 1.28 million. Sales fell 5.7 percent in the South to a rate of 2.15 million and 4.8 percent in the West to a rate of 1.2 million.
