The NAR’s existing-home sales figures for August are out, having climbed after last month’s catastrophic report revealed one of the lowest monthly levels on record (for July).
But by historical standards, the market is still very weak. From the release (emphasis ours):
Existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 7.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.13 million in August from an upwardly revised 3.84 million in July, but remain 19.0 percent below the 5.10 million-unit pace in August 2009.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said home sales still remain subpar. “The housing market is trying to recover on its own power without the home buyer tax credit. Despite very attractive affordability conditions, a housing market recovery will likely be slow and gradual because of lingering economic uncertainty,” Yun said.
This is roughly in line with estimates, and Calculated Risk has already updated the chart:
As we said on Wednesday, it could be a while until the existing home sales numbers improve dramatically — especially while the excess supply of homes on the market remains uncleared and mortgage loan purchase applications stay low.
Meanwhile, the unemployment picture remains unclear, and this morning’s weekly claims figures stayed within their general range from the last few month. Here’s the chart from the St Louis Fed:
The fun continues on Friday with the release of new home sales numbers for August from the Census Burueau. Stay tuned.
Related links:
Housing update – FT Alphaville
Housing preview – FT Alphaville
US housing: from bad to worse, then worse again – FT Alphaville