Berkshire Hathaway PenFed Realty/Ocean Pines

Continued from page 5 buyers have merely paused their search, but their desire and need for a home remain."

Moreover, a recent study from NAR found that student loan debt is preventing the majority of non-owner millennials and those making over $100,000 from buying a home.

Individual investors or second-home buyers, who account for many cash sales, purchased 15 percent of homes in August, even with July but up from 14 percent in August 2020.

All-cash sales accounted for 22 percent of transactions in August, down from 23 percent in July and up from 18 percent in August 2020.

Distressed sales – foreclosures and short sales – represented less than 1 percent of sales in August, equal to the percentage seen a month prior and equal to August 2020.

According to Freddie Mac, the average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage was 2.84 percent in August, down from 2.87 percent in July. The average commitment rate across all of 2020 was 3.11 percent.

Single-family and Condo/Co-op Sales

Single-family home sales throughout the country decreased to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.19 million in August, down 1.9 percent from 5.29 million in July and down 2.8 percent from one year ago.

The median existing single-family home price was $363,800 in August, up 15.6 percent from August 2020.

Existing condominium and co-op sales were recorded at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 690,000 units in August, down 2.8 percent from 710,000 in July but up 9.5 percent from one year ago. The median existing price for a condominium was $302,800 in August, an annual increase of 10.8 percent. "We will continue working with federal policymakers and stakeholders from across the industry in an effort to increase housing supply and ensure the American Dream of homeownership remains accessible to as many people as possible," said NAR President Charlie Oppler, a Realtor from Franklin Lakes, N.J., and the CEO of Prominent Properties Sotheby's International Realty.