Existing-home sales increased 4.8% in November compared with October and were up 6.1% compared with November 2023, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
It was the strongest year-over-year increase since June 2021.
Existing-home sales were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.15 million, the swiftest pace since March, when they were at 4.22 million.
“Home sales momentum is building,” says Lawrence Yun, chief economist for NAR, in a statement. “More buyers have entered the market as the economy continues to add jobs, housing inventory grows compared to a year ago, and consumers get used to a new normal of mortgage rates between 6 percent and 7 percent.”
As of the end of November there were ab out 1.33 million existing homes available for sale – down 2.9% from October but up 17.7% from one year ago.
That’s about a 3.8-month supply at the current monthly sales pace.
The median existing-home sales price increased 4.7% to $406,100, the 17th consecutive month of year-over-year price increases.
“Existing homeowners are capitalizing on the collective $15 trillion rise in housing equity over the past four years to look for homes better suited to their changing life circumstances,” Yun says.
Residential properties typically remained on the market for 32 days in November, up from 29 days in October and 25 days in November 2023.
First-time buyers were responsible for 30% of sales in November, up from 27% in October but down from 31% in November 2023.
Individual investors or second-home buyers, who make up many cash sales, purchased 13% of homes in November, down from 17% in October and 18% in November 2023.
Distressed sales – foreclosures and short sales – represented 2% of sales in November, virtually unchanged from last month and the previous year.
Regionally, and month-over-month, existing-home sales increased 8.5% in the Northeast, 5.3% in the Midwest and 5.6% in the South, but were flat in the West.
Photo: Ian MacDonald