This photo taken on Aug. 22, 2023 shows an advertisement in front of a real estate for sales in Millbrae, California, the United States. The sales of previously owned homes in the United States dropped 2.2 percent in July from June to a seasonally adjusted, annualized rate of 4.07 million units, the National Association of Realtors reported Tuesday. Sales were 16.6 percent lower compared with July of last year, while homes were sold at the slowest July pace since 2010. (Photo by Li Jianguo/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Xinhua News Agency | Xinhua News Agency | Getty Images
Sales of previously owned homes were 4.1% lower in October compared with September, running at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 3.79 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors.
It was the slowest sales pace since August 2010. Analysts were expecting a smaller drop, to 3.9 million units. Sales were down 14.6% year-over-year.
The October sales count is based on closings from contracts likely signed in August and September. The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage had dropped to near 7% at the end of August, but then began rising sharply, jumping over 8% by mid-October. Rates have since retreated somewhat.
“Prospective home buyers experienced another difficult month due to the persistent lack of housing inventory and the highest mortgage rates in a generation,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “Multiple offers, however, are still occurring, especially on starter and mid-priced homes, even as price concessions are happening in the upper end of the market.”
At the end of October there were 1.15 million homes for sale, down 5.7% from a year earlier. This is about half as many homes as were available for sale pre-Covid. At the current sales pace, that represents a 3.6-month supply. a six-month supply is considered a balanced market between buyer and seller.
Tight supply kept pressure under prices. The median price of an existing home sold in October was $391,800, an…
Read the full article here