Existing home sales increased in every region in September for an overall 7% growth compared with August, the National Association of Realtors reported.
Year-over-year, however, existing home sales dwindled 2.3% to a rate of 6.29 million.
“Some improvement in supply during prior months helped nudge up sales in September,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement. “Housing demand remains strong as buyers likely want to secure a home before mortgage rates increase even further next year.”
Month-over-month, existing home sales grew 5.5% in the Northeast, 5.1% in the Midwest, 8.6% in the South and 6.5% in the West.
Total housing inventory dropped 0.8% from August and declined 13.0% from September 2020.
The median existing home price for all housing types was $352,800, a 13.3% surge compared with September 2020 prices.
“First-time buyers are hit particularly hard by the historically high home prices as they largely do not have the savings required to buy a home or equity to offset such a purchase,” Yun stated.
The full NAR report can be seen here.