The median price of an existing home was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis to $391,800, the NAR said, marking the fourth month in a row that prices have increased compared with a year prior.
Year-over-year, sales tumbled 14.6% (down from 4.44 million in October 2022). #NAREHS pic.twitter.com/60Iq58EDlG
— NAR Research (@NAR_Research) November 21, 2023
The Northeast, South, and West all recorded existing-homes sales declines, according to the NAR, although sales were unchanged in the Midwest.
Economist weighs in on latest figures
Lawrence Yun, the NAR’s chief economist, said a lack of supply and higher mortgages rates were the chief factors behind plummeting sales activity, with the 30-year mortgage seeing a weekly average rate of 7.79% in October.
“Prospective homebuyers experienced another difficult month due to the persistent lack of housing inventory and the highest mortgage rates in a generation,” Yun said. “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.”
First-time homebuyers continue to account for a significant portion of sales, with 28% of existing-home purchases made by new buyers in October, the NAR said. Individual investors or second-home buyers bought 15% of homes last month, a drop from 18% the month prior.
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