Existing home sales rose in October, gaining 1.9% to an annualized pace of 5.46 million following a 2.5% decline in September to an annual rate of 5.36 million. With the gain, existing home sales continue to trend higher and are now up 4.6% from October 2018.
Regionally, sales were mixed with gains of 1.6% and 4.4% in the Midwest and South and declines of 1.4% and 0.9% in the Northeast and West. The inventory of homes available for sale fell 2.7% in October from September to 1.770 million which represents a 3.9-month supply at the current sales pace. Inventories are down 4.3% from October last year. House price gains shot higher over the past year; the annual gain in the median price for an existing home rose 6.2% in October to $270,900.
Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist said this sales increase is encouraging and he expects added growth in coming months. “Historically low interest rates, continuing job expansion, higher weekly earnings and low mortgage rates are undoubtedly contributing to these higher numbers,” said Yun. “We will likely continue to see sales climb as long as potential buyers are presented with an adequate supply of inventory.
*** Via Economic Focus for Informational Purposes Only ***
