Home sales hit highest level since 2006

Existing-home sales continued to climb in August, marking three consecutive months of positive sales gains, according to the National Association of Realtors. Each of the four major regions experienced both month-over-month and year-over-year growth, with the Northeast seeing the greatest improvement from the prior month.

Total existing-home sales, completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, rose 2.4 percent from July to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 6 million in August. Sales as a whole rose yearover-year, up 10.5 percent from a year ago — 5.43 million in August 2019.

“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 percent and with continued job recovery.”

The median existinghome price for all housing types in August was $310,600, up 11.4 percent from August 2019 $278,800, as prices rose in every region. August’s national price increase marks 102 straight months of yearover-year gains, according to the NAR.

Total housing inventory

at the end of August totaled 1.49 million units, down 0.7 percent from July and down 18.6 percent from one year ago 1.83 million. Unsold inventory sits at a 3.0-month supply at the current sales pace, down from 3.1 months in July and down from the 4.0-month figure recorded in August 2019.

Scarce inventory has been problematic for the past few years, according to Yun, an issue he says has worsened in the past month due to the dramatic surge in lumber prices and the dearth of lumber resulting from California wildfires.

“Over recent months, we have seen lumber prices surge dramatically,” Yun said. “This has already led to an increase in the cost of multifamily housing and an even higher increase for single-family homes.”

According to Yun, the need for housing will grow even further, especially in areas that are attractive to those who can work from home. As highlighted in NAR’s August study, the 2020 Work From Home Counties report, remote work opportunities are likely to become a growing part of the nation’s workforce culture. Yun believes this reality will endure, even after a coronavirus vaccine is available.

“Housing demand is robust but supply is not, and this imbalance will inevitably harm affordability and hinder ownership opportunities,” he said. “To assure broad gains in homeownership, more new homes need to be constructed.”

Properties typically remained on the market for 22 days in August, seasonally equal to the number of days in July and down from 31 days in August 2019. Sixtynine percent of homes sold in August 2020 were on the market for less than a month.

First-time buyers were responsible for 33 percent of sales in August, down from 34 percnet in July 2020, but up from 31 percent in August 2019. NAR’s 2019 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers – released in late 2019 – revealed that the annual share of first-time buyers was 33 percent.

Individual investors or second-home buyers, who account for many cash sales, purchased 14 percent of homes in August, a small change from July’s figure of 15% and equal to the August 2019 rate of 14 percent. Allcash sales accounted for 18 percent of transactions in August, up from 16 percent in July 2020 and down from 19 percent in August 2019.

Distressed sales[v] – foreclosures and short sales – represented less than 1 percent of sales in August, equal to July’s percentage,

but down from 2 percent in August 2019.

For local information, contact the local association of Realtors® for data from local multiple listing services. Local MLS data is the most accurate source of sales and price information in specific areas, although there may be differences in reporting methodology.

NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index for August is scheduled for release on September 30, and ExistingHome Sales for September will be released October 22; release times are 10:00 a.m. ET. Information about NAR is available at www.nar.realtor

GHAR releases August sales report

HARTFORD – According to the Greater Hartford Association of REALTORS®, closed sales of single-family homes in Greater Hartford increased 23.63 percent over August of last year from 673 to 832. The median sales price increased 14.17 percent from $254,000 to $290,000 and pending sales rose 29.26 percent from 639 to 826. New listings increased 1.10 percent from 817 to 826 and inventory dropped 34.16 percent from 2693 to 1773, during this same timeframe.

In year-to-date statistics, year over year, new listings decreased 12.66 percent from 7046 to 6154. Pending sales increased 6.26 percent from 4582 to 4869 and closed sales increased 1.59 percent from 4477 to 4548. The median sales price increased 6.85 percent from $248,000 to $265,000 and the average days spent on market decreased 6.78 percent from 59 to 55 days, during this same year to date, year over year, timeframe.

Condominium closed sales increased 6.02 percent from 166 to 176 and pending sales increased 30.92 percent from 152 to 199 over August of 2019. The median sales price increased 10.47 percent from $160,000 to $176,750 and inventory decreased 26.41 percent from 602 to 443.

“Typically, sales slow as the school year begins but our Greater Hartford housing market remains solid,” said GHAR CEO, Holly Callanan. “Multiple offers could continue until inventory levels off so it’s best to get expert advice from a Realtor early in the process,” she said.

In the national outlook, Lawrence Yun, National Association of REALTORS® chief economist, stated: “The housing market is well past the recovery phase and is now booming with higher home sales compared to the pre-pandemic days. With the sizable shift in remote work, current homeowners are looking for larger homes and this will lead to a secondary level of demand even into 2021.”