The number of existing homes sold, from January through August of this year, dropped 21% compared with the same period last year. And that’s on top of an 18% decline last year from two years ago. The data is from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). For the month of August, home sales fell 15.3% this year compared with August 2022.
The significant drops in home sales are due to rising interest rates intended to bring down inflation. The US Federal Reserve indicated last week that it will not be lowering interest rates in the short term and may still institute another increase.
The median sales price climbed 3.9% from a year ago to reach $407,100 despite the slowdown in homes sold. This is due to a 24-year low in the number of homes for sale. This August had 1.1 million homes for sale, the lowest August figure since 1999. There is no sign of home prices dropping soon.
New home construction has also been reduced by the high-interest rates. New homes under construction in August were 1.28 million. This is the lowest monthly figure since June 2020.
Read the full Washington Post story here.
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