Existing-Home Sales Fall to 14-Month Low — Evening Brief – 09.10.26
U.S. existing-home sales fell 2% in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.98 million units, slipping to their lowest pace since June 2025 as rising mortgage rates and still-high home prices limited buyer demand.
The August result followed a revised 4.06 million annualized pace in July and was slightly above the 3.97 million consensus estimate. Sales declined 1.2% from a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors. It was the third consecutive monthly decline.
Sales were unchanged in the West from July but fell in the Northeast, Midwest and South. On a year-over-year basis, sales were flat in the South and lower in the other three major regions.
“Mortgage rates and home sales move in opposite directions, so it’s not surprising to see a mild dip in home-buying activity due to high mortgage rates,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said.
Inventory improved even as transactions slowed. The number of existing homes for sale increased 3.2% from July to 1.62 million units, the highest level since November 2019. At August’s sales pace, inventory represented a 4.9-month supply, the highest in more than a decade.
Greater supply has given buyers more room to negotiate, but prices continued to climb. The median existing-home price rose 1.6% from August 2025 to $429,100, a record for August in data going back to 1999.
Yun said sales remain up 1.6% year to date through August, with rising wages and continued job growth supporting housing demand despite higher borrowing costs.
Meanwhile, labor-market data released Thursday pointed to limited layoffs. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 206,000 for the week ended Sept. 5. The four-week moving average declined to 206,000, while continuing claims edged down to 1.774 million for the week ended Aug. 29. The insured unemployment rate held at 1.2%.
The combination of low layoffs, rising wages and expanding inventory may support housing activity if mortgage rates ease, though affordability remains the market’s central constraint.