Existing-home sales up year-over-year for the first time since July 2021
For the first time in over three years, existing-home sales in October were up from last year, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). Closings rose 2.9% from October 2023. Existing-home sales also were up from last month by 3.4% and came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.96 million for the month. All four regions saw increases month-over-month, just one month after three of the four saw a drop.
"The worst of the downturn in home sales could be over, with increasing inventory leading to more transactions,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist at NAR. "Additional job gains and continued economic growth appear assured, resulting in growing housing demand. However, for most first-time homebuyers, mortgage financing is critically important. While mortgage rates remain elevated, they are expected to stabilize.”
Much of this sales activity happened while mortgage rates were rising throughout the month. With speculation that the Fed may be cutting their rate in the coming months, mortgage rates may come down. If they do, find out how to be prepared for a mortgage rate drop.
Inventory rising, but so are prices
There’s additional good news with the number of homes that were for sale in October, known as unsold inventory. There were 1.37 million unsold homes on the market in October, up 0.7% from September and 19.1% from one year ago (1.15 million). Unsold inventory has risen every month in 2024, and currently sits at a 4.2-month supply at the current sales pace. This is up from 3.6 months last year.
Increasing inventory is good news as more homes for sale can help cool home prices, but that didn’t show up in October’s data. Home prices were up from September by 0.7%, and up from October 2023 by 4.0%.
"The ongoing price gains mean increasing wealth for homeowners nationwide,” Yun optimistically noted. "Additional inventory and more home building activity will help price increases moderate next year.”
Month | Median existing-home price | Month-over-month | Year-over-year |
$394,300 | Down 3.1% | Up 2.8% | |
$391,800 | Down 0.6% | Up 3.4% | |
$387,600 | Down 1.1% | Up 4.0% | |
$382,600 | Down 1.3% | Up 4.4% | |
$379,100 | Down 0.9% | Up 5.1% | |
$384,500 | Up 1.4% | Up 5.7% | |
$393,500 | Up 2.3% | Up 4.8% | |
$407,600 | Up 3.6% | Up 5.7% | |
$419,300 | Up 2.9% | Up 5.8% | |
$426,900 | Up 1.8% | Up 4.1% | |
$422,600 | Down 1.0% | Up 4.3% | |
$416,700 | Down 1.4% | Up 3.1% | |
$404,500 | Down 2.9% | Up 3.0% | |
October | $407,200 | Up 0.7% | Up 4.0% |
The who and where of home sales in October
All four regions saw more homes sold in October than in September, and three out of four saw more homes from the year prior.
- Northeast: up 2.2%, an annual rate of 470,000, the same as October 2023
- Midwest: up 6.7%, an annual rate of 950,000, up 1.1% from October 2023
- South: up 2.9%, an annual rate of 1,770,000, up 2.3% from October 2023
- West: up 1.3% an annual rate of 770,000, up 8.5% from October 2023
First-time homebuyers were responsible for 27% of sales in October, up from 26% in September but down from 28% in October 2023. 27% of transactions were all-cash sales in October, down from 30% in September and 29% in October 2023. Individual investors or second-home buyers purchased 17% of homes in October, up from 16% in September.
Today’s news shows that many homebuyers agree that fall is a great time to buy a home. It also reflects how different markets have stayed hot over the last few months, even as the temperatures have been coming down. That’s why it’s so important to work with an experienced loan officer who’s familiar with what’s going on in your city.
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