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Sales of US existing homes slip slightly in August
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By Francesca Hangeior
Sales of previously owned US homes fell in August, according to industry data released Thursday, but lower mortgage rates and growing supply were likely to boost the industry.
Existing home sales dropped 2.5 percent last month from July to an annual rate of 3.86 million, seasonally adjusted, said the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
This was largely in line with the 3.90 million consensus that analysts expected.
“Home sales were disappointing again in August, but the recent development of lower mortgage rates coupled with increasing inventory is a powerful combination that will provide the environment for sales to move higher in future months,” said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun.
Homebuyers in the United States have been grappling with a sharp rise in mortgage rates after the US central bank rapidly lifted the benchmark lending rate in 2022 to tackle inflation.
But with growing expectations that the Federal Reserve was going to pivot to rate cuts after holding rates at a decades-high level for months, mortgage rates have also shifted lower.
The popular 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.2 percent as of September 12, according to mortgage finance firm Freddie Mac — reaching the lowest level since February 2023.
A year ago, the rate was around 7.2 percent.
On Wednesday, the Fed kicked off a process of easing monetary policy with a bold half-percentage-point rate reduction, adding to expectations that mortgage rates would fall further.
“Existing home sales fell to a 10-month low in August, but forward looking indicators like mortgage applications point to a pickup in sales in September and October,” said economist Nancy Vanden Houten of Oxford Economics.
But Oliver Allen of Pantheon Macroeconomics cautioned that a mortgage rate of six percent remains “well above the average rate of about four percent on the stock of existing mortgages.”
“So moving home and taking out a new mortgage still requires a prohibitive jump in monthly payments for most current homeowners,” he said in a note.
“As such, a constrained supply of existing homes for sale will continue to hold back sales,” Allen added.
Compared with a year ago, NAR data showed that existing home sales were 4.2 percent down in August.
The median price increased 3.1 percent from August 2023 to $416,700, with all four US regions seeing price jumps.
Yun told a media call on Thursday that although home sales are struggling, home prices remained high.
Russian authorities have accused Ukraine of carrying out a deadly drone attack on a university complex in Starobelsk, in the Russian-controlled Luhansk region, claiming that 21 students were killed in the strike.
According to a statement circulated by Russian officials, the attack occurred on the night of May 22 and targeted the academic building and dormitory of Lugansk State Pedagogical University.
Russian authorities alleged that 16 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), including four heavy drones, were deployed in three waves during the operation.
Officials described the incident as one of the deadliest attacks on a civilian educational facility in the region since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, claiming that the victims were students residing in the university dormitory.
“Just a week ago, they were students with dreams, plans and a future. Today, all that remains are photographs, memories and unbearable grief,” the statement said.
The authorities further alleged that the strike was deliberate and targeted civilians rather than military infrastructure.
The claims could not be independently verified, and Ukrainian authorities had not publicly responded to the allegations at the time of filing this report.
Since the start of the conflict, both Russia and Ukraine have repeatedly accused each other of carrying out attacks on civilian infrastructure, allegations that are often difficult to verify independently due to ongoing hostilities and restricted access to affected areas.
The reported incident has renewed concerns among humanitarian organizations about the impact of the war on educational institutions and young people caught in the conflict.
The Russia-Ukraine war, now in its fifth year, has resulted in thousands of civilian casualties, widespread displacement and extensive damage to homes, schools, hospitals and critical infrastructure across both countries.
International observers have consistently called for independent investigations into attacks involving civilian casualties, regardless of the parties involved, to establish the facts and ensure accountability under international humanitarian law.
Iran’s foreign ministry on Tuesday accused the United States of violating a fragile ceasefire during the past 48 hours in the southern coastal province of Hormozgan, without specifying the incident.
“The US terrorist army, continuing its illegal and unjustified actions since the ceasefire … has, in the past 48 hours, committed a gross violation of the ceasefire in the Hormozgan region,” the ministry said in a statement.
The US Central Command said forces had on Monday attacked missile sites and boats it said were trying to lay mines in the Gulf, while Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said it had fired at US aircraft attempting to enter the country’s airspace.
AFP
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has ordered the restoration of international internet access in Iran, which had been suspended since the United States and Israel launched attacks against the country, local media reported Monday.
“The decree aimed at restoring internet access to its pre-January state was communicated to the Ministry of Communications by the president,” Iranian news agencies Tasnim and Fars reported.
Authorities shut down the internet during large-scale anti-government protests that peaked in early January, then suspended it again on February 28 at the start of the Middle East war.
Since then, the population has only had access to domestic platforms and websites.
AFP
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