Existing home sales reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.85 million in October, a 4.3% increase from September and a 26.6% surge year-over-year, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
“The surge in sales in recent months has now offset the spring market losses,” NAR Economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement. “With news that a COVID-19 vaccine will soon be available, and with mortgage rates projected to hover around 3% in 2021, I expect the market’s growth to continue into 2021.”
The median existing home price for all housing types in October was $313,000, an increase of 15.5% year-over-year. Housing inventory declined 2.7% in October to 1.42 million units, a 19.8% drop compared with October 2019. Meanwhile, home builders confidence soared to a record high in November.
Regionally, existing home sales in October grew 4.7% in the Northeast (up 30.4% year-over-year), 8.6% in the Midwest (up 16.7% year-over-year), 3.2% in the South (up 15.7% year-over-year), and 1.4% in the West (up 15.1% year-over-year).
“Considering that we remain in a period of stubbornly high unemployment relative to pre-pandemic levels, the housing sector has performed remarkably well this year,” Yun added.
The full NAR report can be found here.
