Existing Home Sales Drift Lower in August, Marking Seventh Consecutive Monthly Decline

The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) reported on Wednesday (9-21-22) that total existing home sales—completed transactions for single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops—recorded a 0.4% decline in August from July. Sales were at a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.80 million homes. This marks the seventh consecutive month of declining existing home sales. Year-over-year sales are down 19.9% (5.99 million August 2021).

Month-over-month sales varied across all four major US regions, as two regions reported increases, one was unchanged, and one posted a decline. On a year-over-year basis, sales fell in all four regions.

At the end of August, total housing inventory registered was 1,280,000 units, a decrease of 1.5% from July and unchanged from August 2021. Unsold inventory sits at a 3.2-month supply at the current sales pace, identical to July but up from 2.6 months in August 2021.

The median existing home price for all housing types in August was $389,500, which represents a 7.7% increase from August 2021 ($361,500), as prices increased across all regions. This marks 126 consecutive months of year-over-year increases, the longest-running streak on record. However, it was the second month in a row that the median sales prices declined after reaching a record high of $413,800 in June.

Properties typically remained on the market for 16 days in August, up from 14 days in July but down from 17 days in August 2021. Eighty-one percent of homes sold in August 2022 were on the market for less than a month.