Existing home sales slip to 3.98 million in August as rates take a bite

Existing home sales fell 2% month over month in August to a seasonally adjusted annual sales pace of 3.98 million, according to data released Thursday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The last time sales activity fell below an annual rate of 4 million was in June 2025. On a year-over-year basis, existing home sales were down 1.2%, although NAR said existing home sales are up 1.6% through the first eight months of the year compared to the same time frame in 2025. Regionally, existing home sales fell month over month in the Northeast (-4% to 480,000 units), the Midwest (-3.1% to 940,000 units) and the South (-1.6% to 1.84 million units), but remained unchanged in the West at an annual rate of 720,000 units. On a yearly basis, existing home sales slowed in the West (-2.7%), the Midwest (-2.1%) and the Northeast (-2%), but remained unchanged in the South. “Mortgage rates and home sales move in opposite directions, so it’s not surprising to see a mild dip in home buying activity due to high mortgage rates,” Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said in a statement. “Homebuying demand, despite higher interest rates, is no doubt being supported by rising wages, which grew 3.1...