Sales of existing homes declined 2.2% in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.38 million, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports. Overall sales are up 3.9% compared with September 2018.
“Home prices are rising too rapidly because of the housing shortage,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement. “This lack of inventory is preventing home sales growth potential.”
The median existing home price increased 5.9% year-over-year to $272,100. Housing inventory in September decreased 2.7% year-over-year to 1.83 million.
Existing home sales fell in each region compared with August, declining 2.8% and 3.1% in the Northeast and Midwest, respectively, and by 2.1% and 0.9% in the South and West, respectively.
The full NAR report can be found here.
