Resales For Existing Homes in the U.S. Fall In August, According To The National Realtor Association On Monday
The increasing selling price of homes in the U.S. may be the cause for some citizens to postpone buying of houses for some time, reported Wall Street Journal on Monday.
According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the sales of existing homes in the country have fallen 4.8 percent as of August based on a $5.3 million annual rate, which is considered to be the sharpest decline since January, falling at 4.9 percent. Based on a survey conducted by the Wall Street Journal, August sales were expected to decline by 1.1 percent based on a 5.53 million annual rate.
The sales for single-family houses in August declined by 5.3 percent, with the sales of condominiums declining by 1.6 percent. According to analyst, the decline was not so much of a threat given that a 6.2 percent increase in yearly sales was recently recorded.
"Even with the decline, I believe we are comfortably set for the best home sales year in eight years," said chief economist at NAR, Lawrence Yun.
On the other hand, Deutsche Bank economist Joseph LaVorga, Aditya Bhave and Brett Ryan said, "The August lull in existing home sales should prove short-lived because the fundamentals for housing remain highly supportive."
"Rising employment, slowly accelerating wage growth, rising housing demand, slowing home price inflation and mortgage rates at historical lows will underpin greater housing demand and in turn sales through the remainder of the year and into 2016," said Gregory Daco, head of U.S. macroeconomics at Oxford Economics.
CNBC reported on Monday the housing market has been contributing to the growth of the nation monthly, however, home sales and construction are still below the level of 2007 until 2009 recession.
The start of housing for August dropped by three percent as compared to July. Analysts consider the decline to be caused by an increased housing tax credit in New York.