While the rebound in existing home sales is expected to slow (from the massive beat: +24.7% MoM surge in July), analysts still expected SAAR to extend its gains to the highest since 2006... and it did.
As expected, Existing Home Sales rose 2.4% MoM in August to 6.00mm SAAR - the highest since Dec 2006
Source: Bloomberg
"Home sales continue to amaze, and there are plenty of buyers in the pipeline ready to enter the market," said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist.
"Further gains in sales are likely for the remainder of the year, with mortgage rates hovering around 3% and with continued job recovery."
This is the highest YoY jump since Nov 2016...
Source: Bloomberg
Sales were very focused on the extreme high-end with a 44% increase in $1MM homes sold YoY...
Regional Breakdown:
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Existing-home sales in the Northeast jumped 13.8%, recording an annual rate of 740,000, a 5.7% increase from a year ago. The median price in the Northeast was $349,500, up 10.4% from August 2019.
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Existing-home sales increased 1.4% in the Midwest to an annual rate of 1,410,000 in August, up 9.3% from a year ago. The median price in the Midwest was $246,300, a 10.7% increase from August 2019.
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Existing-home sales in the South rose 0.8% to an annual rate of 2.60 million in August, up 13.0% from the same time one year ago. The median price in the South was $269,200, a 12.3% increase from a year ago.
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