Key facts
- The 3.75 million unit annual rate was the lowest since August 2010, the National Association of Realtors said.
- Economists polled by Reuters had forecast existing home sales at a 3.85 million unit rate for October.
- Existing home inventory rose 1.3% to 1.590 million units, and supply was up 4.6% from a year earlier.
- At October's sales pace it would take 5.1 months to exhaust existing inventory, the most since November 2015.
- The median existing home price rose 0.4% from a year earlier to $421,900, the highest for any October.
- First-time buyers were 29% of October sales, down from 31% in September and 32% a year earlier.
US existing home sales fell 5.5% in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.75 million units, the National Association of Realtors said on November 12. That was the lowest level since August 2010, when sales were declining after the end of a homebuyers tax credit. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a 3.85 million unit rate. Sales were down 8.8% from October a year earlier.
Home sales are counted at the closing of a contract, so October's figures likely reflected contracts signed in August and September. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose above 7% in late August and reached 7.40% by mid-September, a total of 142 basis points since the US and Israel attacked Iran at the end of February, according to Freddie Mac data. It averaged 7.18% in the week before the report, down from 7.24% the prior week.
"Home buying is difficult when mortgage rates have climbed to their highest levels since 2000, aside from a single month in 2023," said Lawrence Yun, the NAR's chief economist.
Sales dropped in the South, Midwest and West and were unchanged in the Northeast. Existing inventory increased 1.3% to 1.590 million units, and supply rose 4.6% from a year earlier. At October's sales pace it would take 5.1 months to exhaust current inventory, the most since November 2015, up from 4.7 months in September and 4.4 months a year earlier.
The median existing home price advanced 0.4% from a year earlier to $421,900, the highest for any October. First-time buyers accounted for 29% of sales, down from 31% in September and 32% a year earlier; the NAR said a 40% share is needed for a robust housing market. The median number of days on the market rose to 35 from 33 in September and 34 a year earlier. Distressed sales, including foreclosures, were unchanged at 2%. Cash transactions rose to 29% of sales from 27% in September and were unchanged from a year earlier. Individual investors or second-home buyers accounted for 20% of transactions, unchanged from September and up from 16% a year earlier.