Real Estate Market

Existing-home sales increased by 1.2% in October, according to the National Association of REALTORS® Existing-Home Sales Report. The Report provides the real estate ecosystem, including agents and homebuyers and sellers, with data on the level of home sales, price, and inventory.

Month-over-month sales increased in the Midwest and South, showed no change in the Northeast, and fell in the West. Year-over-year sales rose in the Northeast, Midwest and South, and decreased in the West.

"Home sales increased in October even with the government shutdown due to homebuyers taking advantage of lower mortgage rates," said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. "First-time homebuyers are facing headwinds in the Northeast due to a lack of supply and in the West because of high home prices. First-time buyers fared better in the Midwest because of the plentiful supply of affordable houses and in the South because there is sufficient inventory."

"Rents are decelerating which will reduce inflation and encourage the Federal Reserve to continue cutting rates and pulling back their quantitative tightening," Yun added. "This will help bring more homebuyers into the market since the Fed rate has an indirect impact on mortgage rates."

National Snapshot

Total Existing-Home Sales for October

· 1.2% increase in existing-home sales¹ month-over-month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.10 million.

· 1.7% increase in sales year-over-year.

Inventory in October

· 1.52 million units: Total housing inventory², down 0.7% from September and up 10.9% from October 2024 (1.37 million).

· 4.4-month supply of unsold inventory, down from 4.5 months in September and up from 4.1 months in October 2024.

Median Sales Price in October

· $415,200: Median existing-home price³ for all housing types, up 2.1% from one year ago ($406,800) – the 28th consecutive month of year-over-year price increases.

Regional Snapshot for Existing-Home Sales in October

Northeast

· No change month over month; sales remain at an annual rate of 490,000, up 4.3% year over year.

· $503,700: Median price, up 6.5% from October 2024.

Midwest

· 5.3% increase in sales month over month to an annual rate of 990,000, up 2.1% year over year.

· $319,500: Median price, up 4.6% from October 2024.

South

· 0.5% increase in sales month over month to an annual rate of 1.86 million, up 2.8% year over year.

· $362,300: Median price, up 0.3% from October 2024.

West

· 1.3% decrease in sales month over month to an annual rate of 760,000, down 2.6% year over year.

· $628,500: Median price, up 0.1% from October 2024.