Existing-home sales dropped slightly in August, marking the seventh consecutive month of declines, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). NAR reported month-over-month sales varied across the four major U.S. regions as two regions recorded increases, one was unchanged and the other posted a drop. On a year-over-year basis, sales fell in all regions.

Total existing-homes sales in August fell 0.4 percent from July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.80 million in August. Year-over-year, sales dropped 19.9 percent (5.99 million in August 2021).

“The housing sector is the most sensitive to and experiences the most immediate impacts from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy changes,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said “The softness in home sales reflects this year’s escalating mortgage rates. Nonetheless, homeowners are doing well with near nonexistent distressed property sales and home prices still higher than a year ago.”

According to NAR, total housing inventory at the end of August was 1,280,000 units, a decrease of 1.5 percent from July and unchanged from the previous year. Unsold inventory at the end of August sat at a 3.2-month supply at the current sales pace – identical to July and up from 2.6 months in August 2021.

“Inventory will remain tight in the coming months and even for the next couple of years,” Yun added. “Some homeowners are unwilling to trade up or trade down after locking in historically-low mortgage rates in recent years, increasing the need for more new-home construction to boost supply.”

The median existing-home price for all housing types in August was $389,500, a 7.7 percent jump from August 2021 ($361,500), with prices increasing in all regions.  For the second month in a row, median sales prices retracted after reaching a record high of $413,800 in June.

NAR reported that properties remained on the market for 16 days in August, up from 14 days in July and down from 17 days in August 2021. Eighty-one percent of homes sold in August 2022 were on the market for less than a month.

In August, the largest year-over-year median list price growth occurred in Miami (+33.4 percent), Memphis (+25.8 percent) and Milwaukee (+25 percent). Phoenix reported the highest increase in the share of homes that had their prices reduced compared to last year (+30.9 percentage points), followed by Austin, Texas (+24.8 percentage points) and Las Vegas (+24.4 percentage points).

Regionally, existing-home sales in the Northeast grew 1.6 percent from July to an annual rate of 630,000 in August, down 13.7 percent from August 2021. The median price in the Northeast was $413,200, an increase of 1.5 percent from the previous year.

Existing-home sales in the Midwest fell 3.3 percent from the prior month to an annual rate of 1,160,000 in August, retreating 15.9 percent from August 2021. The median price in the Midwest was $287,900, up 6.6 percent from the previous year.

Existing-home sales in the South were identical to July but down 19.3 percent from one year ago. The median price in the South was $356,000, an increase of 12.4 percent from August 2021.

Existing-home sales in the West increased 1.1 percent compared with last month to an annual rate of 880,000 in August, down 29 percent from this time last year. The median price in the West was $602,900, a 7.1 percent increase from August 2021.