US Home Sales Fall in August

U.S. home sales of existing homes fell more than expected in August, a cautionary sign for the U.S. housing market which has recently looked on stronger footing.

The National Association of Realtors said on Monday existing home sales dropped 4.8 percent to an annual rate of 5.31 million units.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a 5.51 million-unit pace of home sales last month. Sales were up 6.2 percent from a year ago.

The decline in August might be due to rising prices shutting out potential buyers, said Lawrence Yun, the NAR’s chief economist. Home sales fell most in America’s South and West, areas which had recently seen the fastest price gains, he said.

A Cautionary Sign

Nationwide, the median home price fell slightly in August to $228,700. That was still up 4.7 percent from a year earlier, but left the year-over-year rate at its lowest since August 2014. Prices in the West were up 7.1 percent from a year earlier.

July’s sales pace was revised slightly lower to 5.58 million units.

A string of strong reports on the U.S. housing market have supported the view that the U.S. economy is building up steam and closing in on the point when the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates to keep it from overheating.

The housing market has been adding to quarterly economic growth although home sales and construction remain far below levels seen in the years before the 2007-09 recession.

This article originally appeared on the CNBC website on September 21, 2015. The article can be viewed in its entirety here under its original title, “US existing home sales fall more than expected”.

The Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors has released the market statistics for the Twin Cities for the week ending June 29th and for the entire month of June 2013.

In the Twin Cities region, for the week ending June 29:

• New Listings increased 22.8% to 1,738
• Pending Sales increased 22.4% to 1,405
• Inventory decreased 16.8% to 15,405

For the month of June:

• Median Sales Price increased 17.5% to $210,000
• Days on Market decreased 33.6% to 75
• Percent of Original List Price Received increased 2.5% to 97.5%
• Months Supply of Inventory decreased 27.1% to 3.5

The Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors has released the market statistics for the Twin Cities for the week ending June 22, 2013.

In the Twin Cities region, for the week ending June 22:

• New Listings increased 28.9% to 1,797
• Pending Sales increased 14.1% to 1,214
• Inventory decreased 18.2% to 15,195

The Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors has released the latest market statistics for the week ending April 27, 2013. The housing market is becoming increasingly competitive with the low inventory and rising sales!

In the Twin Cities region, for the week ending April 27:

• New Listings increased 2.9% to 1,519
• Pending Sales increased 17.3% to 1,308
• Inventory decreased 28.8% to 13,291