Existing-Home Sales Rose 1.4% in October

Washington, DC, November 21, 2018-Total existing-home sales increased 1.4% from September to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.22 million in October, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Sales are now down 5.1% from a year ago (5.5 million in October 2017).

Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, says increasing housing inventory has brought more buyers to the market. “After six consecutive months of decline, buyers are finally stepping back into the housing market,” he said. “Gains in the Northeast, South and West--a reversal from last month’s steep decline or plateau in all regions--helped overall sales activity rise for the first time since March 2018.”

The median existing-home price for all housing types in October was $255,400, up 3.8% from October 2017 ($246,000). October’s price increase marks the 80th straight month of year-over-year gains.

Total housing inventory at the end of October decreased from 1.88 million in September to 1.85 million existing homes available for sale, but that represents an increase from 1.80 million a year ago. Unsold inventory is at a 4.3-month supply at the current sales pace, down from 4.4 last month and up from 3.9 months a year ago.