Existing home sales fell 4.3-percent in August to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 5.50 million units, compared to 5.75 million units in July, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

When compared to existing home sales for the same period last year, the August numbers also dropped 12.8-percent, a decline from the 6.31-million pace set in August of last year.
“The unusual disruptions in the mortgage market, including a significant rise in jumbo loan rates, resulted in a fairly high number of postponed or canceled sales, with many buyers having to search for other financing when loan commitments fell through,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s senior economist.
Yun predicts the existing-home sales market will experience less-than-stellar numbers until the market regains its balance later in the year. “Once we get through these disruptions, we’ll get a better sense of where the actual market is in late fall as conditions begin to normalize,” he said.
Click here to read NAR’s full report.