Existing home sales data from the National Association of Realtors
- Prior was 5.39m (revised to 5.38m)
- Sales down 0.9% m/m vs +1.1% exp
- Median sale prices $240K, +5.1% from Aug 2015
- Inventory of homes for sale 2.04 million, or 4.6 months
Despite two months of declines, sales remain near the post-crisis highs.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says recent job growth is not yielding higher home sales. "Healthy labor markets in most the country should be creating a sustained demand for home purchases," he said. "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."
Added Yun, "Hopes of a meaningful sales breakthrough as a result of this summer's historically low mortgage rates failed to materialize because supply and affordability restrictions continue to keep too many would-be buyers on the sidelines."
He also lamented the lack of construction of new homes.