Fueled by low mortgage interest rates and strong demand, existing home sales increased for a third straight month in November, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). However, supply has continued to lag due to ongoing supply-chain disruptions, keeping home price elevated and pricing out first-time and young buyers.
Total existing home sales, including single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, rose 1.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.46 million in November, the highest level since January. However, on a year-over-year basis, sales were 2.0% lower than a year ago, the fourth annual decline since August 2020.
The first-time buyer share fell to 26% in November, down from 29% in October and down from 32% a year ago. The November inventory level declined from 1.23 to 1.11 million units and is still down from 1.28 million units a year ago.
At the current sales rate, November unsold inventory sits at a 2.1-month supply, down from 2.3 month both last month and a year ago. This low supply of resale homes is good news for home construction.
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Homes stayed on the market for an average of just 18 days in November, to the same as October and down from 21 days a year ago. In November, 83% of homes sold were on the market for less than a month.
The November all-cash sales share was 24% of transactions, equal to October’s share and up from 20% a year ago.
Tight supply continues to push up home prices. The November median sales price of all existing homes was $353,900, up 13.9% from a year ago, representing the 117th consecutive month of year-over-year increases, the longest-running streak on record. The median existing condominium/co-op price of $283,200 in November was up 4.4% from a year ago.
Geographically, three of four regions saw an increase in existing home sales in November, ranging from 0.7% in the Midwest to 2.9% in the South. Sales in the Northeast remained flat in November. On a year-over-year basis, however, sales declined in three major regions, ranging from 0.7% in the Midwest to 11.6% in the Northeast.
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Meanwhile, the Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) is a forward-looking indicator based on signed contracts. The PHSI increased 7.5% from 116.5 to 125.2 in October. On a year-over-year basis, sales were 1.4% lower than a year ago per the NAR data.
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