Home sales drop to lowest level since June 2025

Sales of existing homes dropped to their lowest level in more than a year last month amid rising mortgage rates and housing prices , according to a report released Thursday .

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) found that sales of previously occupied homes fell by 2 percent in August from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.98 million. This is the lowest this figure has been since it hit 3.93 million in June 2025.

August marks the third consecutive month of declining home sales in the U.S. NAR said the number of unsold houses on the market jumped 3.2 percent from July to August.

The latest data comes as U.S. mortgage rates continue to grow amid the ongoing Iran war, which has intensified in recent weeks. Uncertainty around the duration of the conflict and rising oil prices have hiked up the long-term bond yields that are used to determine home loans.

The 10-year bond yield jumped to its highest level since 2023 on Thursday, at 4.9 percent, after the Treasury Department announced plans to buy back up to $6 billion in longer-term debt. The benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate also hit its highest intraday level in more than 14 months this week, reaching 6.76 percent.

“Mortgage rates and home sales move in opposite directions, so it’s not surprising to see a mild dip in home buying activity due to high mortgage rates,” NAR’s chief economist, Lawrence Yun, said in a Thursday statement .

Despite August’s decreased home sale rate, the numbers across the first eight months of 2026 were up 1.6 percent compared with the same time period in 2025, Yun noted.

“Homebuying demand, despite higher interest rates, is no doubt being supported by rising wages, which grew 3.1% in August, along with 643,000 net new jobs added since the start of the year,” he said. “Job creation and wage growth typically drive housing demand.”

The national median sales price for existing homes also increased to $429,100 last month, jumping by 1.6 percent from the previous year. This is an all-time high for the month of August based on data collected since 1999, according to NAR.

Rising housing prices and general cost of living concerns have been key issues for voters ahead of the midterm elections. A CNBC survey in July found that young voters, between the ages of 18 and 34, saw housing costs as a more pressing concern than other issues like food affordability and protecting democracy.

Congress passed a bipartisan bill earlier this year aimed at lowering housing costs and increasing the national home supply. The legislation took effect in July without the signature of President Trump, who refused to approve it in protest of the Senate’s failure to pass his voter ID bill.