Existing Home Sales Decline More Than Expected

Existing home sales in August dipped 4.8% month-over-month to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.31 million units.

Although a decline of 1.7% was anticipated, the actual number was below any estimate in the Bloomberg Consensus Range of 5.4 to 5.6 million.

Though slowing in August, existing home sales are still healthy and trending higher. Existing home sales came in at a lower-than-expected 5.31 million annual rate in August which is the lowest since April. July was revised down just slightly but is still an 8-year high at 5.58 million. At 6.2 percent, growth in year-on-year sales is the lowest since February. The year-on-year median price, up only 4.7 percent to $228,700, is the lowest since August 2014. The report cites no special reasons behind August's softness, but notes that it follows prior strength, in fact six months of strength.