By Fan-Yu Kuo | Eye On Housing
Existing home sales in October fell to the lowest level since August 2010, as limited inventory and higher mortgage rates continued to weigh on homebuyers, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Low resale inventory and strong demand continued to drive up existing home prices, marking the fourth consecutive month of year-over-year median sales price increase. However, recent declines in mortgage rates and a continued improvement in inventory are expected to fuel more demand in the coming months.
Total existing home sales, including single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, fell 4.1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.79 million in October. On a year-over-year basis, sales were 14.6% lower than a year ago.
The first-time buyer share rose to 28% in October, up from 27% in September 2023 and identical to October 2022. The October inventory level measure increased slightly to 1.15 million units but was down 5.7% from a year ago.
