Existing home sales fell last month but not as quickly as economists and analysts expected. True, home sales have declined in 10 of the last 12 months however they remain quite strong with this year projected to land somewhere near the third highest on record. For August, existing home sales fell 0.5% to an annualized pace of 6.30 million.
New home sales rebounded in August gaining 4.1% to an annual rate of 1.050 million, in line with estimates. The bounce was related to sharp downward revisions in the previous three months making August sales tallies seem stronger. New home sales peaked in July of last year and have been trending lower since. Over the past year new home sales have declined 17.4%.
Mortgage rates fell again this week as rate cut expectations increased on incoming economic data. 30-year fixed rate mortgages averaged 6.31% this week compared to 6.40% last week according to Freddie Mac’s mortgage market survey. Economists at Freddie Mac note that lower mortgage rates and moderate house price declines should lead to greater housing affordability.
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