Existing Home Sales were expected to rebound modestly in October (+2.9% MoM) after dropping for 6 of the last 7 months to the lowest levels since 2010, and they did. Sales rose 3.4% MoM (a beat) but thanks to a downward revision for September from -1.0% to -1.3% MoM. What is most shocking about the shift is that it pushed the YoY change for existing home sales positive (+2.9% YoY) for the first time since July 2021...
Source: Bloomberg
...but in context, that shift up to 3.96mm SAAR homes sold is nothing...
Source: Bloomberg
High borrowing costs have led to a shortage of previously owned homes on the market, discouraging many would-be home sellers from listing their properties for sale and having to part with their current low financing costs.
“Additional job gains and continued economic growth appear assured, resulting in growing housing demand,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a prepared statement.
“While mortgage rates remain elevated, they are expected to stabilize.”
Last month, the inventory of available homes edged up 0.7% to 1.37 million, continuing to trend higher although well below pre-pandemic levels.
Despite the weakness in sales, tight inventory is keeping prices elevated, yielding one of the least affordable housing markets on record. The median sale price last month increased 4% from a year earlier to $407,200, the highest ever for any October, the NAR figures show.
Contract signings rose in all four US regions, led by a 6.7% jump in the Midwest.
Sales of single-family homes increased 3.5% in October; purchases of condominiums and co-ops were up 2.7%
Finally, while that's all very exciting - a scintilla of growth off almost record lows - the fecal matter is about to strike the rotating object as rising mortgage rates lagged impact threatens...
Source: Bloomberg
In October, 59% of homes sold were on the market for less than a month, compared with 57% in September, and 19% sold above the list price. Properties remained on the market for 29 days on average, compared with 28 days in the previous month. First-time buyers made up 27% of purchases, still historically low.
