Following a healthy improvement during September, existing home sales slowed last month. Home sales in the West fell the most.
The sale of pre-owned residential properties came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.36 million for the month of October.
Existing home sales reflect
completed transactions that include the sale of single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and cooperatives.
The statistics were released Monday by the National Association of Realtors.
Activity slowed from the prior month, when the rate was 5.55 million. September’s rate was second highest since February 2007.
“New and existing-home supply has struggled to improve so far this fall, leading to few choices for buyers and no easement of the ongoing affordability concerns still prevalent in some markets,” NAR Chief economist Lawrence Yun explained in the report. “Furthermore, the mixed signals of slowing economic growth and volatility in the financial markets slightly tempered demand and contributed to the decreasing pace of sales.”
NAR previously reported existing home sales an a revised annual rate of 5.25 million for October 2014.
The biggest month-over-month drop was in the West, where sales retreated nine percent to an annual rate of 1.16 million.
In the South, a three percent decline from September left the rate there at 2.14 million.
A one percent decline in the Midwest put October’s seasonally adjusted annual rate at 1.30 million.
The Northeast’s rate of 0.76 million was no different than in September.
At $219,600, the median existing home price rose six percent from October 2014, the trade group said. It was the 44th consecutive year-over-year increase.
As of Oct. 31, 2015, there were 2.14 million existing homes available for sale. That was off more than two percent from a month earlier and five percent from a year earlier.
NAR noted that the unsold inventory worked out to a 4.8-month supply, inching up from 4.7 months in September.
Time on the market was 57 days last month, more than the 49 days in September.
First-time buyers were responsible for 31 percent of October’s sales, while all-cash share was 24 percent. Foreclosures and short sales accounted for six percent of last month’s activity — the lowest share since tracking began in October 2008.
