October 2023
U.S. sales of existing homes recently fell to a 13-year low, dropping 2.0%
month-over-month and 15.4% year-over-year as of last measure, according
to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), as surging interest rates
and elevated sales prices continue to make homeownership unaffordable
for many prospective buyers. Purchase activity is down significantly
compared to this time last year, but rising interest rates are also keeping
many current homeowners from selling, causing inventory to remain at
historically low levels nationwide.
New Listings increased 8.3 percent for Single Family homes and 24.9
percent for Townhouse/Condo homes. Pending Sales increased 5.1 percent
for Single Family homes and 9.5 percent for Townhouse/Condo homes.
Inventory decreased 15.5 percent for Single Family homes but increased
24.7 percent for Townhouse/Condo homes.
Median Sales Price increased 9.2 percent to $651,000 for Single Family
homes and 3.1 percent to $300,000 for Townhouse/Condo homes. Median
Time to Contract decreased 22.7 percent for Single Family homes but
increased 22.7 percent for Townhouse/Condo homes. Months Supply of
Inventory decreased 5.4 percent for Single Family homes but increased
44.4 percent for Townhouse/Condo homes.
Total housing inventory going into October was at 1.13 million units, up
2.7% from the previous month but down 8.1% compared to the same time
last year, for a 3.4 months’ supply at the current sales pace, according to
NAR. The shortage of homes for sale is making it harder for buyers to find a
home to purchase while at the same time pushing sales prices higher
nationwide, with the median existing-home sales price rising 2.8% annually
to $394,300, the third consecutive month of year-over-year price increases.
Continue reading the report and charts...