US existing home sales rise slightly in September

Existing home sales in the United States saw a slight increase of 1.5% in September, reaching a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 3.99 million units. This figure is close to market expectations of 3.95 million and represents a recovery from the previous month, which had marked the second-slowest sales period of the year. Total housing inventory also grew by 1.9% to 1.6 million units, providing 4.8 months of supply at the current sales pace.

Regional data showed sales recovering in the South and West, with increases of 2.8% each. However, the Northeast experienced a 2.1% decline in sales, while the Midwest saw no change. Despite the modest monthly gain, NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun noted that August and September were the slowest months for home sales this year, attributing the trend to rising mortgage rates that are impacting buyer affordability.

The median existing-home price for all housing types in August was $389,500, marking a 7.7% increase from August 2021. This represents the 126th consecutive month of year-over-year price increases, though the pace of price growth has been cooling. The National Association of Realtors also reported that total housing inventory fell from 1.31 million to 1.28 million units in August.