US Existing-Home Sales Fell 2.0% in August as Supply Reached 4.9 Months

US existing-home sales slipped to a 3.98 million annual rate in August 2026 while the median price rose 1.6% to $429,100 and inventory climbed to 4.9 months.

Existing-home sales in the United States ran at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.98 million in August 2026, down 2.0% from July and 1.2% below August 2025. The median existing-home price was $429,100, up 1.6% from $422,400 a year earlier. The National Association of Realtors published the figures on 10 September 2026.

The more consequential number sits on the supply side. Unsold inventory rose to 1.62 million units, 3.2% above July and 5.9% above a year ago, which works out to 4.9 months of supply against 4.6 months in July. "Homebuyers now have better negotiation opportunities with 4.9 months' supply, the highest level in over a decade," said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun. Homes took 31 days to sell, up from 29 in July.

Falling volumes, rising prices

The combination looks contradictory and is not. "Mortgage rates and home sales move inversely, so mild buying activity declines from elevated rates are expected. Yet home prices are rising, and year-to-date existing home sales are up 1.6%," Yun said. Fewer transactions clear at a higher median when the constraint is affordability rather than willingness to sell: the buyers who remain are the ones able to absorb the price.

The composition of those buyers shifted slightly in every direction that suggests cash is doing more of the work. First-time buyers accounted for 30% of sales, up from 29% in July. All-cash purchases made up 27%, up from 26%. Investors and second-home buyers took 15%, up from 14%.

By property type, single-family sales fell 1.9% to a 3.62 million annual rate with a median of $434,800, up 1.7% over the year. Condominiums and co-ops fell 2.7% to 360,000 with a median of $371,600, up 1.5%.

A country pulling in four directions

The regional table is where the national median stops being informative. Sales fell 4.0% in the Northeast, 3.1% in the Midwest and 1.6% in the South, and were unchanged in the West. Prices diverged further: the Northeast median reached $556,900, up 4.3% over the year, the Midwest $340,400, up 3.3%, and the South $366,500, up just 0.7%. The West, the most expensive region at $619,100, was the only one down over twelve months, at -0.2%.

That is a spread of 4.5 percentage points between the fastest and slowest region, on a national figure of 1.6%. Anyone reading the US market as a single line is averaging away most of what happened.

How this reads against our own number

Our United States snapshot, dated 4 September 2026, carries $2,433 per square metre and an annual price change of 2.2%. The two figures are built differently and the difference is the point: our stored price is a median asking price per square foot from listings data, while the NAR median is a closed-transaction price for whole homes. Asking and transacted prices are separate instruments, and a gap between them is normal rather than an error.

The rest of the snapshot: a gross rental yield of 6.71%, a price-to-income ratio of 3.5, round-trip transaction costs of 6.9%, among the lowest we track, and an effective tax of 10.66% on non-resident rental income in our standardised case. Bubble Risk stands at 57, inside the moderate band.

Sources: National Association of Realtors, Existing-Home Sales August 2026, 10 September 2026 https://www.nar.realtor/newsroom/nar-existing-home-sales-report-shows-2-0-decrease-in-august; NAR release via GlobeNewswire, 10 September 2026 https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/09/10/3359670/0/en/nar-existing-home-sales-report-shows-2-0-decrease-in-august.html

Market data: United States · Miami