Latest home sales numbers have ups and downs
In case you missed them, several new reports on the nation's housing market were released last week. NAR's existing home sales report showed a slight dip in August sales compared to the previous month, down 0.5 percent. The median home price also declined 1.7 percent to $225,000. “After a stronger-than-expected drop in July, the fairly even sales numbers in August tell us the market is at a more sustainable pace,” NAR Chief Economist David Lereah said. “It keeps us on track to see the third highest sales year on record, but we do expect an adjustment in home prices to last several months as we work through a build up in the inventory of homes on the market.”
New home sales, in the meantime, were up in August, increasing 4.1 percent over July, according to the Commerce Department. 30-year fixed mortgage rates averaged 6.31 percent last week, reported Freddie Mac, down a bit from 6.40 percent the week before. And NAR's Pending Home Sales Index rose 4.3 percent in August, which according to Lereah indicates that “home sales may have reached a low in August – the Pending Home Sales Index shows home sales should be fairly stable over the next two months, although a minor decline is possible.”
