The numbers: U.S. existing-home sales fell 0.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.8 million in August, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday.
This is the seventh straight monthly decline.
Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal were expecting a steeper decline in existing-home sales to 4.68 million.
This is the lowest level of existing home sales since May 2020, during the pandemic downturn.
Excluding the recession, the level of sales activity was lowest since November 2015.
Compared with August 2021, home sales were down 19.9%.
Key details: Existing-home prices moderated. The median price for an existing home fell to $389,500, down from a peak of $413,800 reached in June.
Home prices are still up 7.7% from August 2021, but that’s the smallest increase since June 2020.
The number of homes on the market fell 1.5% to 1.28 million units in August.
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