While the annual rate of pre-owned home sales moved up on a year-over-year basis, a second consecutive month-over-month decline was recorded.
The sale of 541,000 existing U.S. houses was completed during August, more than the downwardly revised 513,000 homes sold the previous month.
The increase in pre-owned home sales was even more significant when compared to the same month in 2015, a month that saw 504,000 properties sold.
Historical data from the National Association of Realtors, which released last month’s data on Wednesday, indicate that
there have been 3,668,000 existing home sales — including single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-operatives — closed during the first-eight months of 2016.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, the annual rate of sales was 5.330 million, slowing from a downwardly revised 5.380 million in July.
August 2016 was the second month in a row the rate slowed and the second-lowest rate of the year.
“Healthy labor markets in most the country should be creating a sustained demand for home purchases,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun stated in the report. “However, there’s no question that after peaking in June, sales in a majority of the country have inched backwards because inventory isn’t picking up to tame price growth and replace what’s being quickly sold.”
Still, the rate accelerated from a downwardly adjusted 5.290 million in August 2015.
A less than 1 percent increase from a year earlier left the seasonally adjusted annual rate at 2.160 million in the South, 1.270 million in the Midwest and 1.200 million in the West.
The rate in the Northeast was unchanged from August 2015 at 0.700 million.
On just single-family homes, the annual rate was 4.70 million last month.
As of the end of August 2016, there were 2.040 million existing U.S. homes for sale. The inventory was reduced from 2.110 million a month earlier and 2.270 million a year earlier.
At the current pace of home sales, it would take 4.6 months to clear out the existing home inventory. In July, there was a 4.7-month supply, while the supply was 5.1 months in August 2015.
Last month’s median U.S. sales price was $240,200, while the average price was $282,100.
Time on the market was 36 days during the most-recent month, no different than in July.
First-time buyers accounted for 31 percent of August 2016’s total sales, while
all-cash share was 22 percent, and distressed sales made up 5 percent of activity.
