Existing-Home Sales Grow 4.8% in November

(Illustration courtesy of National Association of Realtors)

Existing-home sales grew in November, the National Association of Realtors reported Thursday.

Total existing-home sales – completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – improved 4.8% from October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.15 million in November. Year-over-year, sales bounced 6.1% (up from 3.91 million in November 2023).

Sales advanced in three major U.S. regions and remained steady in the West, NAR found. Year-over-year, sales climbed in all four regions.

NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said home sales momentum is building. “More buyers have entered the market as the economy continues to add jobs, housing inventory grows compared to a year ago, and consumers get used to a ‘new normal” of mortgage rates between 6% and 7%,” he said.

Total housing inventory registered at the end of November was 1.33 million units, down 2.9% from October but up 17.7% from one year ago. Unsold inventory sits at a 3.8-month supply at the current sales pace, down from 4.2 months in October but up from 3.5 months in November 2023.

NAR said the median existing-home price for all housing types in November was $406,100, up 4.7% from one year ago ($387,800). All four U.S. regions posted price increases. “Existing homeowners are capitalizing on the collective $15 trillion rise in housing equity over the past four years to look for homes better suited to their changing life circumstances,” Yun added.