The housing market continued its boom in August and U.S. existing home sales surged to their highest level in nearly 14 years, setting a new record for average home price.
What happened: Following July's record-shattering 24.7% gain, sales increased 2.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6 million, according to the National Association of Realtors.
- Sales rose 10.5% from August 2019, the biggest increase since December 2006.
- The boom was fueled largely by demand for luxury homes.
By the numbers: The median price of an existing home sold in August rose to a record high of $310,600, up 11.4% year over year.
- There were 1.5 million homes for sale at the end of August, down 18.6% annually to a three-month supply, NAR said.
- The number of homes for sale when sales were last this high, in 2006, was more than double the current supply.