**MNI 5 THINGS: Aug Existing Home Sales Unch, But Y/Y Gains

--5 Things We Learned From The Existing Home Sales Data

By Kevin Kastner, Shikha Dave, and Harrison Clarke

     WASHINGTON (MNI) - The following are the key points from the August

existing home sales data released Thursday by the National Association of

Realtors:

     - August existing home sales were unchanged at 5.34M vs 5.36M expected,

while July was unrevised.

     - August resales were up 7.6% in Northeast and up 2.4% in the Midwest, but

were down 0.4% South and down 5.9% in the West.

     - August home supply was unchanged at 1.92m, but was up 2.7% year/year,

allowing the months supply to remain at 4.3 months as in July, up 4.9% from 4.1

months a year ago. This is the first year/year increase in supply in over two

years.

     - NAR's Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said that while inventory did show a

modest year/year gain, new home construction is still not keeping up with

demand.

     - National median sales price +4.6% y/y to $264,800 in August. While the

year/year gain is still stronger than wage growth, Yun said that it shows some

moderation compared to recent months.

--MNI Washington Bureau; +1 (973) 494-2611; email: harrison.clarke@marketnews.com

[TOPICS: MAUDR$,MAUDS$,M$U$$$]