Total existing home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, fell 4.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.31 million in August.

“The persistent summer theme of tight inventory levels likely deterred some buyers”, the NAR said. Home sales had plunged to an annual rate of just 4 million when the Fed pegged its rate to zero. The median price for a home in August 2015 was $145,000, down almost 3 percent from the year before.

NAR also said there were 2.29 million existing homes available for sale at the end of August, reflecting a 1.3% increase from 2.26 million at the end of July. In August of 2014, first-time buyers accounted for 29% of all sales.

The dip in sales coupled with an increase in home inventories caused the supply-to-sales ratio to increase to a less-optimal 5.2 months’ worth of inventory compared to 4.9 in the prior two months.

Fifty-one (51) counties recorded median price gains in August 2015 over previous-year numbers, including Champaign County, up 9.9 percent to $154,900; St. Clair County, up 6.2 percent to $137,000; and Kane County, up 3.0 percent to $204,000. From our data, the percentage of distressed sales among the total sales for the Chicago PMSA was 13.5 percent in August.

The median forecast of 73 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for sales to ease to a 5.5 million annual rate. Forty percent of homes sold in August were on the market for less than a month. “Regionally, home sales continue to grow at a higher rate in the West, but overall slowdown in price appreciation across the country should be encouraging for young buyers”. Many worldwide investors consider Treasurys a safe haven, and steady buying from overseas will likely keep the 10-year yield, and mortgage rates, low even when the Fed does start to lift off.

Matching the lowest share since NAR began tracking in October 2008, distressed sales – foreclosures and short sales – remained at 7% in August for the second consecutive month; they were 8% a year ago.

In the Midwest, existing-home sales declined 1.5 percent to an annual rate of 1.28 million in August, but remain 5.8 percent above August 2014. That compares with the 6.06 percent average in the five years leading to the last recession. But the median home price has increased 4.7 percent during that time, more than double the increase in average hourly pay.

August was shaping up to be a fairly strong month for the housing sector as the reports so far for housing permits and the home price index showed continued momentum from July.

Realtors logged 508 sales in August, a drop of 0.8 percent from 512 in August 2014. Prices in the West were up 7.1 per cent from a year earlier.