U.S. Existing Home Sales Decrease For Ninth Straight Month In October

(RTTNews) - Existing home sales in the U.S. saw a substantial decrease in the month of October, according to a report released by the National Association of Realtors on Friday.

NAR said existing home sales plummeted by 5.9 percent to an annual rate of 4.43 million in October after slumping by 1.5 percent to a rate of 4.71 million in September.

Existing home sales decreased for the ninth consecutive month, resulting in a 28.4 percent nosedive compared to the same month a year ago.

"More potential homebuyers were squeezed out from qualifying for a mortgage in October as mortgage rates climbed higher," said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.

He added, "The impact is greater in expensive areas of the country and in markets that witnessed significant home price gains in recent years."

Housing inventory at the end of October totaled 1.22 million units, down 0.8 percent from 1.23 million in both September and a year ago.

The unsold inventory represents 3.3 months of supply at the current sales rate, up from 3.1 months in September and 2.4 months in October 2021.

"Inventory levels are still tight, which is why some homes for sale are still receiving multiple offers," Yun said. "In October, 24% of homes received over the asking price. Conversely, homes sitting on the market for more than 120 days saw prices reduced by an average of 15.8%."

The report said the median existing home price was $379,100 in October, down 1.2 percent from $383,500 in September but up 6.6 percent from $355,700 a year ago.

Home prices saw year-over-year growth for the 128th consecutive month, reflecting the longest-running streak on record.

NAR also said single-family home sales plunged by 6.4 percent to an annual rate of 3.95 million, while existing condominium and co-cop sales slumped by 2.0 percent to a rate of 480,000.

Next Wednesday, the Commerce Department is scheduled to release its report on new home sales in the month of October. New home sales are expected to tumble by 3.8 percent.