U.S. existing-home sales increase more than forecast in August

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) announced on Thursday that the U.S. existing home sales rose 1.3 percent m-o-m to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.49 million in August from an unrevised 5.42 million in July.

Economists had forecast home resales increasing to a 5.37 million-unit pace last month.

In y-o-y terms, existing-home sales increased 2.6 percent in August.

According to the report, single-family home sales stood at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.90 million in August, up from 4.84 million in July and up 2.9 percent from a year ago. The median existing single-family home price was $280,700 in August 2019, an increase of 4.7 percent from August 2018. Meanwhile, existing condominium and co-op sales were recorded at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 590,000 units in August, 1.7 percent above the rate from the previous month and about equal to a year ago. The median existing condo price was $257,600 in August, which is up 5.2 percent from a year ago.

The NAR’s chief economist Lawrence Yun attributed the August increase in sales to falling mortgage rates. “As expected, buyers are finding it hard to resist the current rates,” he said. “The desire to take advantage of these promising conditions is leading more buyers to the market.”