The
National Association of Realtors (NAR) announced on Thursday that the U.S.
existing home sales jumped 7.0 percent m-o-m to a seasonally adjusted rate of 6.29
million in September from an unrevised 5.88 million in August. This was the highest reading
since January.
Economists
had forecast home resales growing to a 6.02 million-unit pace last month.
In
y-o-y terms, existing-home sales declined 2.3 percent in September.
According
to the report, all four major regions recorded m-o-m gains in existing-home
sales in September, but only one of them - the South - managed to avoid a decline
in y-o-y terms. The median existing-home price for all
housing types in September was $352,800, up 13.3 percent y-o-y. This marked 115
straight months of y-o-y gains.
Single-family
home sales came in at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 5.59 million in September,
being up 7.7 percent m-o-m, but down 3.1 percent from one year ago. The median
existing single-family home price was $359,700 in September, up 13.8 percent
from September 2020. Meanwhile, existing condominium and co-op sales were
recorded at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 700,000 units in September, up
1.4 percent from August and up 4.5 percent from one year ago. The median
existing condo price was $297,900 in September, an annual advance of 9.3 percent.
"Some
improvement in supply during prior months helped nudge up sales in
September," noted Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist. "Housing
demand remains strong as buyers likely want to secure a home before mortgage
rates increase even further next year."