August Monthly Market Comparison-HAR Report
Homebuyers continued to take a break from the market in August amid the pressures of record home prices and rising interest rates, keeping home sales in negative territory for a fifth straight month. Year-over-year single-family home sales fell 16.9 percent. On a year-to-date basis, sales are lagging just 3.7 percent behind last year’s record pace.
Market indicators yielded mixed readings in August. In addition to the drop in single-family home sales, total property sales and total dollar volume of sales experienced declines and pending sales slid 11.0 percent. Active listings (the total number of available properties) jumped 31.1 percent.
Months of inventory grew again in August, reaching a 2.5-months supply. That is the highest level since August of 2020 when it was 2.6 months. Housing inventory nationally stands at a 3.3-months supply, according to the latest report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). A 6.0-months supply is generally considered make up a “balanced market,” in which neither the buyer nor the seller has an advantage.