The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports that the seasonally adjusted annual rate of existing home sales in October fell 3.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.36 million from a total of 5.55 million in September.
Existing home sales have increased on a year-over-year basis for 13 consecutive months and are now 3.9% higher than in October 2014.
The consensus estimate called for sales to reach 5.4 million, according to a survey of economists polled by Bloomberg.
Housing inventory decreased by 2.3% in October to 2.14 million homes, which is equal to a supply of 4.8 months, unchanged from September’s total, but still well above the total of 1.88 million homes in inventory at the end of December 2014.
According to the NAR, the national median existing home price for all housing types in October was $219,600, up 5.8% compared with October 2014, the 44th consecutive month of year-over-year increases.
NAR’s chief economist said:
New and existing-home supply has struggled to improve so far this fall, leading to few choices for buyers and no easement of the ongoing affordability concerns still prevalent in some markets. Furthermore, the mixed signals of slowing economic growth and volatility in the financial markets slightly tempered demand and contributed to the decreasing pace of sales.
The percentage of first-time buyers rose to 31% in October, up from 29% in September. In October of 2014, first-time buyers also accounted for 29% of all sales.
Sales of single-family homes fell 3.7% from September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.75 million, up 4.6% compared with October a year ago. Sales of multi-family homes fell 1.6% in October at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 610,000 units.
Foreclosed and short sales accounted for 6% of October sales, down from 9% in October 2014. Foreclosures sold at an average 18% discount to the October median price, and short sales sold at a discount of just 8%.
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All homes were on the market for an average of 57 days in October, up from 49 days in September. Foreclosed homes were on the market for an average of 67 days and short sales took a median of 90 days to sell. Non-distressed homes took 57 days to sell, and one-third of homes sold in October were on the market for less than a month.
The NAR also reported the following regional data:
October existing-home sales in the Northeast rose 8.6% year-over-year to an annual rate of 760,000, and are now 8.6% above a year ago. The median price in the Northeast was $248,900, which is 1.3% higher than October 2014.
In the Midwest, existing-home sales slipped by 0.8% to an annual rate of 1.3 million in October, and are 8.3% above October 2014 sales. The median price in the Midwest was $172,300, up 5.7% from a year ago.
Existing-home sales in the South fell 3.2% to an annual rate of 2.14 million in October, and are now just 0.5% above October 2014 sales. The median price in the South was $188,800, up 6.2% from a year ago.
Existing-home sales in the West decreased by 8.7% to an annual rate of 1.16 million in October, and are now 2.7% higher than a year ago. The median price in the West was $319,000, which is 8% above the October 2014 median.
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