US Existing Home Sales September 2026

US Existing Home Sales for August 2026 is released on Thursday, September 10, 2026 at 10:00 am ET (3:00 pm London) by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The report covers resale transactions of single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops that closed during August 2026. Full schedule and background: US Existing Home Sales.

What is existing home sales?

Existing home sales measures the number of previously owned US homes that changed hands in a given month, expressed as a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR). That means the monthly figure is adjusted to strip out normal seasonal patterns (fewer sales in winter, more in spring and summer) and then multiplied up to show what total annual sales would look like if the month’s pace continued for a full year.

NAR compiles the figure from closed transactions reported by multiple listing services and large brokerages across the country, covering roughly 90% of the resale market. Because a home sale usually closes 30 to 60 days after a contract is signed, the report reflects buyer decisions made in June and July rather than August itself. Alongside the headline sales rate, NAR publishes the median sale price, the level of unsold inventory, the months’ supply of homes on the market and the average time a property stays listed.

Markets watch this release because housing is one of the most interest rate sensitive parts of the economy. A slowdown in sales tends to show up before it appears in broader growth figures, and the Federal Reserve tracks housing indicators as part of its assessment of how tight monetary policy is squeezing households. Resale activity also feeds related sectors such as furniture, removals, home improvement and mortgage lending, so a weak or strong print carries knock-on signals for consumer spending.

When is the August existing home sales report released?

The National Association of Realtors publishes the report on its newsroom website at 10:00 am ET (3:00 pm London) on Thursday, September 10, 2026. This is the standard mid-month release slot NAR uses for existing home sales, typically the second or third week of the month following the reference period. There is no estimate involved here: NAR has confirmed the September 10 date and time for the August 2026 data.

What is the consensus forecast?

As of publication, a consensus forecast for the August 2026 existing home sales figure has not yet been published. Surveys from data providers such as Trading Economics and Bloomberg typically appear in the days immediately before the release, once analysts have digested pending home sales data and mortgage application trends for August. The most recent confirmed reading is 4.06 million SAAR for July 2026, according to the National Association of Realtors.

What the result could mean

These are possibilities based on how similar prints have been discussed by analysts and NAR economists in recent releases, not predictions of the actual outcome.

Why does this release matter right now?

Existing home sales have hovered near multi-decade lows through 2026, constrained by mortgage rates that have stayed in the mid-6% range. NAR’s July release put the pace at 4.06 million units, following a run that saw sales at 3.98 million in March, 4.02 million in April, 4.17 million in May and 4.09 million in June, according to NAR newsroom data. NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun has repeatedly pointed to tight mortgage rate driven affordability as the main constraint on buyers, while noting that wage growth has been outpacing home price growth in recent months, which has offered some relief. Freddie Mac’s average 30-year fixed mortgage rate stood at 6.49% in June 2026, up slightly from 6.44% in May, keeping many would-be buyers on the sidelines or locked into their current homes rather than trading up.

The Federal Reserve watches housing turnover as one gauge of how restrictive policy remains. A further slowdown in resales would add to the case for rate cuts, while a stabilisation or pickup could support the view that the housing market has adjusted to the current rate environment. Inventory has also been rising gradually through 2026, up 5.8% in April and continuing to climb into the summer, which analysts say could eventually ease price pressure if the trend persists.

What It Means for Your Money

• Mortgages and rates: A weaker than expected sales figure can add to arguments for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, which over time can flow through to lower mortgage rates for buyers and those refinancing in the US, and can also influence sentiment around Bank of England and European Central Bank policy through shared expectations about global borrowing costs.
• Savings: Interest rate expectations tied to housing data affect the returns on savings accounts and money market funds. If the report feeds into expectations of Fed cuts, savers holding cash may see yields on new deposits edge lower in the months ahead.
• Jobs and wages: Home sales support employment in real estate, mortgage lending, home improvement and removals. A sustained slowdown can mean fewer hours or hiring in these sectors, while a pickup tends to support related job creation.
• Prices: Median home prices have posted year-over-year increases for more than 30 consecutive months, according to NAR data, even as sales volumes have been subdued. Weak sales alongside rising prices reflects a market where limited supply is keeping prices firm despite fewer transactions.
• Investments, pensions and currencies: Housing data is one input into how investors price US growth and interest rate paths, which affects the dollar, and indirectly the pound and euro through relative rate expectations. Pension funds holding US Treasuries or mortgage backed securities can see valuations shift on days when housing data surprises markets.

Related events

• US New Home Sales, which measures sales of newly built properties and is released separately by the Census Bureau.
• US Pending Home Sales Index, an earlier signal based on signed contracts rather than closings, typically released about a month ahead of existing home sales.
• Freddie Mac’s weekly average mortgage rate survey, which tracks the borrowing costs directly influencing buyer affordability.

Frequently Asked Questions

What time is the August existing home sales report released?

The National Association of Realtors publishes the report at 10:00 am ET, which is 3:00 pm in London, on Thursday, September 10, 2026.

How should I read the existing home sales figure?

Focus on the seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) figure and compare it with the prior month and consensus forecast once published, alongside the median price and months’ supply, which show whether the market favours buyers or sellers.

How does this release affect mortgage rates?

The report itself does not set rates, but weak or strong housing data feeds into expectations for Federal Reserve policy, which in turn influences the direction of mortgage rates over time.

Where can I find the official release?

The National Association of Realtors publishes the full report and data tables in its newsroom section at nar.realtor.

When is the next existing home sales report?

NAR typically releases existing home sales data in the second or third week of each month, meaning the next report covering September 2026 data is expected in mid-October 2026, though NAR has not yet confirmed the exact date.

Results: US Existing Home Sales, August 2026

The National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales fell by 2.0% month-on-month in August 2026 to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of about 3.98 million units, a slightly weaker outcome than the 4.03 million SAAR economists had pencilled in, according to a survey cited by the CalculatedRisk newsletter, and below the 4.06 million pace recorded in July 2026, according to the National Association of Realtors. Sales were also down 1.2% from a year earlier, the report showed. NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said mortgage rates and home sales tend to move in opposite directions, so a mild dip in buying activity was not surprising given a Freddie Mac average 30-year fixed mortgage rate of 6.67% in August, up from 6.54% in July, according to the NAR newsroom release.

The median existing-home price rose to $434,800, up 1.7% from a year earlier, extending a run of consecutive year-on-year price increases even as sales volumes softened. Regionally, sales held steady in the West and declined in the Northeast, Midwest and South on a month-on-month basis, while year-on-year sales were unchanged in the South and fell in the other three regions. NAR noted that existing home sales remained up 1.6% year-to-date through the first eight months of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025, suggesting the August dip was a pause rather than a reversal of the year’s modest recovery.

This outcome broadly matches the “below consensus” scenario flagged in the preview: a softer than expected print consistent with high mortgage rates still weighing on affordability, a theme Yun has repeated in recent NAR releases, rather than a sharp deterioration or an upside surprise.

Market Reaction

Existing home sales is a second-tier release that closed transactions rather than new activity, so it typically generates a limited, short-lived market reaction compared with reports such as nonfarm payrolls or CPI. A modest miss against consensus, as seen in the August figure, tends to be read as marginally supportive of the case for further Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, since weaker housing turnover is one of several signals of a labour market and consumer that remain sensitive to borrowing costs.

Homebuilder and real estate related stocks are the segment most likely to show a direct response to housing data of this kind, with a miss sometimes weighing modestly on builder shares while a softer growth signal can support Treasury prices and pull yields lower if it reinforces rate-cut expectations. Any broader equity market and dollar reaction on the day is more likely to reflect other scheduled events than the existing home sales print in isolation, given the report’s narrower focus on the resale housing market.

What this means for your money now

The August miss keeps existing home sales within the roughly 4 million range that has held for much of 2026, so the outlook for mortgage rates and the broader housing market is largely unchanged rather than reshaped by this release. Prospective buyers and sellers in the US should continue to expect mortgage rates near the mid-6% region in the near term, with any meaningful move lower more likely to come from a shift in Federal Reserve policy than from a single month’s home sales data. Savers, and holders of pensions or investments with exposure to US housing and mortgage related assets, are unlikely to see a material change in outlook as a direct result of this report.