National Association of Realtors – NEWS RELEASES
August Existing-Home Sales Rise, Limited Inventory Continues to Push Prices
WASHINGTON (September 19, 2013) ? Existing-home sales increased in August and reached the highest level in six-and-a-half years, while the median price shows nine consecutive months of double-digit year-over-year increases, according to the National Association of Realtors?.
Total existing-home sales1, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, rose 1.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.48 million in August from 5.39 million in July, and are 13.2 percent higher than the 4.84 million-unit level in August 2012.
Sales are at the highest pace since February 2007, when they hit 5.79 million, and have remained above year-ago levels for the past 26 months.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the market may be experiencing a temporary peak. ?Rising mortgage interest rates pushed more buyers to close deals, but monthly sales are likely to be uneven in the months ahead from several market frictions,? he said. ?Tight inventory is limiting choices in many areas, higher mortgage interest rates mean affordability isn?t as favorable as it was, and restrictive mortgage lending standards are keeping some otherwise qualified buyers from completing a purchase.?
Total housing inventory at the end of August increased 0.4 percent to 2.25 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 4.9-month supply2 at the current sales pace, down from a 5.0-month supply in July. Unsold inventory is 6.3 percent below a year ago, when there was a 6.0-month supply. ?Limited inventory in some areas means multiple bidding remains a factor; 17 percent of all homes sold above the asking price in August, although 63 percent sold below list price.?
Data from realtor.com,3 NAR?s listing site, shows large declines in inventory from a year ago in Naples, Fla., down 23.5 percent; the Detroit area, down 23.3 percent; and the greater Boston area, down 20.7 percent.
According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage rose to 4.46 percent in August from 4.37 percent in July, and is the highest since July 2011 when it was 4.55 percent; the rate was 3.60 percent in August 2012.
The national median existing-home price4 for all housing types was $212,100 in August, up 14.7 percent from August 2012. This is the strongest year-over-year price gain since October 2005 when the median rose 16.6 percent, and marks 18 consecutive months of year-over-year price increases.
Distressed homes5 ? foreclosures and short sales ? accounted for 12 percent of August sales, down from 15 percent in July, and is the lowest share since monthly tracking began in October 2008; they were 23 percent in August 2012. Ongoing declines in the share of distressed sales are responsible for some of the growth in median price.
Eight percent of August sales were foreclosures, and 4 percent were short sales. Foreclosures sold for an average discount of 16 percent below market value in August, while short sales were discounted 12 percent.
NAR President Gary Thomas, broker-owner of Evergreen Realty in Villa Park, Calif., said rising home values will encourage more people to sell. ?As the equity position of most homeowners continues to improve, some who have been on the sidelines will list their home for sale,? he said. ?Most of those owners also will be buying another home, but higher levels of new home construction going into 2014, combined with some reduction in demand from less favorable affordability conditions, will help to moderate price growth to more sustainable levels.?
The median time on market for all homes was 43 days in August, little changed from 42 days in July, but is much faster than the 70 days on market in August 2012. Short sales were on the market for a median of 98 days, while foreclosures typically sold in 52, days and non-distressed homes took 41 days. Forty-three percent of homes sold in August were on the market for less than a month.
First-time buyers accounted for 28 percent of purchases in August, down from 29 percent in July and 31 percent in August 2012.
All-cash sales comprised 32 percent of transactions in August, up from 31 percent in July and 27 percent in August 2012. Individual investors, who account for many cash sales, purchased 17 percent of homes in August, compared with 16 percent in July and 18 percent in August 2012. Last month, three out of four investors paid cash.
Single-family home sales rose 1.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.84 million in August from 4.76 million in July, and are 12.8 percent above the 4.29 million-unit pace in August 2012. The median existing single-family home price was $212,200 in August, which is 14.4 percent higher than a year ago.
Existing condominium and co-op sales rose 1.6 percent to an annual rate of 640,000 units in August from 630,000 in July, and are 16.4 percent above the 550,000-unit level a year ago. The median existing condo price was $211,700 in August, up 17.7 percent from August 2012.
Regionally, existing-home sales in the Northeast were unchanged at an annual rate of 710,000 in August but are 12.7 percent above August 2012. The median price in the Northeast was $268,800, up 7.6 percent from a year ago.
Existing-home sales in the Midwest increased 3.1 percent in August to a pace of 1.32 million, and are 18.9 percent higher than a year ago. The median price in the Midwest was $166,100, which is 10.0 percent above August 2012.
In the South, existing-home sales rose 3.8 percent to an annual level of 2.19 million in August and are 13.5 percent above August 2012. The median price in the South was $181,000, up 14.6 percent from a year ago.
Existing-home sales in the West declined 2.3 percent to a pace of 1.26 million in August but are 7.7 percent higher than a year ago. With the tightest regional inventory conditions, the median price in the West rose to $287,500, which is 18.8 percent above August 2012.
The National Association of Realtors?, ?The Voice for Real Estate,? is America?s largest trade association, representing 1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries. For additional commentary and consumer information, visit www.houselogic.com and http://retradio.com.
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NOTE: For local information, please contact the local association of Realtors? for data from local multiple listing services. Local MLS data is the most accurate source of sales and price information in specific areas, although there may be differences in reporting methodology.
1Existing-home sales, which include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, are based on transaction closings from Multiple Listing Services. Changes in sales trends outside of MLSs are not captured in the monthly series. NAR rebenchmarks home sales periodically using other sources to assess overall home sales trends, including sales not reported by MLSs.
Existing-home sales, based on closings, differ from the U.S. Census Bureau?s series on new single-family home sales, which are based on contracts or the acceptance of a deposit. Because of these differences, it is not uncommon for each series to move in different directions in the same month. In addition, existing-home sales, which account for more than 90 percent of total home sales, are based on a much larger data sample ? about 40 percent of multiple listing service data each month ? and typically are not subject to large prior-month revisions.
The annual rate for a particular month represents what the total number of actual sales for a year would be if the relative pace for that month were maintained for 12 consecutive months. Seasonally adjusted annual rates are used in reporting monthly data to factor out seasonal variations in resale activity. For example, home sales volume is normally higher in the summer than in the winter, primarily because of differences in the weather and family buying patterns. However, seasonal factors cannot compensate for abnormal weather patterns.
Single-family data collection began monthly in 1968, while condo data collection began quarterly in 1981; the series were combined in 1999 when monthly collection of condo data began. Prior to this period, single-family homes accounted for more than nine out of 10 purchases. Historic comparisons for total home sales prior to 1999 are based on monthly single-family sales, combined with the corresponding quarterly sales rate for condos.
2Total inventory and month?s supply data are available back through 1999, while single-family inventory and month?s supply are available back to 1982 (prior to 1999, single-family sales accounted for more than 90 percent of transactions and condos were measured only on a quarterly basis).
3Realtor.com, NAR?s listing site, posts metro area median listing price and inventory data at: http://www.realtor.com/data-portal/Real-Estate-Statistics.aspx.
4The median price is where half sold for more and half sold for less; medians are more typical of market conditions than average prices, which are skewed higher by a relatively small share of upper-end transactions. The only valid comparisons for median prices are with the same period a year earlier due to a seasonality in buying patterns. Month-to-month comparisons do not compensate for seasonal changes, especially for the timing of family buying patterns. Changes in the composition of sales can distort median price data. Year-ago median and mean prices sometimes are revised in an automated process if additional data is received.
The national median condo/co-op price often is higher than the median single-family home price because condos are concentrated in higher-cost housing markets. However, in a given area, single-family homes typically sell for more than condos as seen in NAR?s quarterly metro area price reports.
5Distressed sales (foreclosures and short sales), days on market, first-time buyers, all-cash transactions and investors are from a monthly survey for the NAR?s Realtors? Confidence Index, posted at Realtor.org.
The Pending Home Sales Index for August will be released September 26 and existing-home sales for September is scheduled for October 21; release times are 10:00 a.m. EDT.