Nationwide, existing home sales were down slightly in August, falling 2% after two consecutive months of increases, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. The decline in existing home sales coincides with rising sales prices, which have continued to soar into fall, with the median sales price of existing homes up 14.9% compared to last year. Declining affordability has had a significant impact on homebuyers, many of whom have been priced out of the market and are choosing to wait for sales prices to ease before resuming their home search. Logo of New Jersey Realtors featuring stylized blue rooftops.

• Single Family Closed Sales were down 17.5 percent to 7,756.
• Townhouse-Condo Closed Sales were down 8.1 percent to 2,479.
• Adult Communities Closed Sales were down 14.4 percent to 729.
• Single Family Median Sales Price increased 7.3 percent to $440,000.
• Townhouse-Condo Median Sales Price increased 5.1 percent to $310,000.
• Adult Communities Median Sales Price increased 26.4 percent to $303,330.

There are signs the market may be shifting, however. New listings have continued to hit the market, bucking seasonality trends commonly seen in the fall, a time when listing and sales activity typically slows as children return to school. As inventory increases, competition for homes may soften, and could even bring a moderation in sales prices, which, after 114 months of year-over-year gains,