Steel Markets
September 22, 2014
Existing Home Sales Have Surprising Drop in August
Written by Sandy Williams
Existing home sales fell unexpectedly in August, ending four straight months of gains. Home sales decreased 1.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.05 million from a revised rate of 5.14 in July. The August sales slid well below economist forecasts of SAAR 5.2 million for the month.
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) attributes the decline to investors and all-cash purchases retreating from the market. All-cash transactions dropped to 23 percent in August and individual investors purchased just 12 percent of homes, down from 16 percent in July and 17 percent a year ago.
