US: Existing home sales pace to slightly fall to a 5.43 million unit in August – Wells Fargo

The low inventory of existing homes for sale capped sales in July, with sales slipping to a 5.44 million unit pace, compared to a 5.51 million unit pace in June, notes the analysis team at Wells Fargo.

Key Quotes

“Demand for housing remains strong thanks to low mortgage rates, job growth and rising income. Competition among buyers is stiff. Supply remains low and prices are rising as a result. First-time homebuyers are being priced out of the market with the high prices of homes, and home sales at the lower-end of the price spectrum have declined in every region of the nation over the year.”

“We expect existing home sales in the month of August to slightly fall to a 5.43 million unit pace. Texas and Florida account for 18.8 percent of existing home sales year-to-date, so we could see a stall in existing home sales in these markets throughout the end of the year, but this will likely be seen more in September compared to August.”