NAR: Existing-Home Sales Fall in September
(Image courtesy of NAR; Breakout image courtesy of Thirdman/pexels.com)
September existing-home sales fell by 1% from August and by 3.5% year-over-year, the National Association of Realtors, Chicago, reported.
Existing-home sales stand at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.84 million.
“Home sales have been essentially stuck at around a four-million-unit pace for the past 12 months, but factors usually associated with higher home sales are developing,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “There are more inventory choices for consumers, lower mortgage rates than a year ago and continued job additions to the economy. Perhaps, some consumers are hesitating about moving forward with a major expenditure like purchasing a home before the upcoming election.”
Total housing inventory was at 1.39 million units, up 1.5% from August and 23% from September 2023. Unsold inventory is at a 4.3-month supply, up from 4.2 months in August and 3.4 months in September 2023.
The median existing-home price was $404,500, up 3% year-over-year.
Properties remained on the market for 28 days in September, a slight increase from 26 days in August. However, that’s a week more than last year–average time on the market was 21 days in September 2023.
First-time buyers accounted for 26% of sales in September, matching all-time lows from the previous month and November 2021.
All-cash sales were 30% of September’s numbers, up from 26% in August and 29% this time last year.
Investors or second-home buyers purchased 16% of homes in September, down from 19% in August and 18% in September 2023.
Distressed sales were 2% of sales in September.
Single-family home sales fell by 0.6% to a seasonally adjusted rate of 3.47 million, down 2.3% year-over-year, but the median existing single-family home price was $409,000, up 2.9% from September 2023.
Condominium and co-op sales fell 5.1% in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 370,000, down 14% from last year. The median condo price was $361,600, up 2.2% from September 2023.
By region, existing-home sales in the Northeast fell 4.2% to an annual rate of 460,000, down 6.1% from September 2023. The median price in the Northeast was $467,100, up 6% from last year.
In the Midwest, existing-home sales fell 2.2% to an annual rate of 900,000. That’s down 5.3% from the year before. The median price was $306,600, up 5% from September 2023.
In the South, existing-home sales fell 1.7% to an annual rate of 1.72 million, down by 5.5% year-over-year. The median price was $359,700, up just 0.8% from the previous year.
In the West, existing-home sales grew 4.1% in September to an annual rate of 760,000, up 5.6% from last year. The median price was $616,400, up 1.7% from September 2023.
