Home sales fell to the lowest level in 14 years, as high home prices, inflation-depleted savings, still-elevated mortgage rates, and election uncertainty kept buyers on the sidelines
Sales of existing homes—which make up most real estate transactions in the U.S.—fell by one percent to an annual rate of 3.84 million in September, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday.
Economists had forecast a stronger 3.9 million sales figure for the month. Sales fell by about 2.5 percent in the prior month.
This is the lowest level of existing home sales since October 2010, when the housing market was still staggering from the bursting of the mortgage bubble and the financial crisis.
Sales declined despite interest rates falling in September. On average, the 30-year mortgage rate was 6.18 percent in September. It is now higher, at 6.44 percent, and is expected to keep rising as long-term Treasury yields rise.
Most polls show that Americans trust Donald Trump more on the economy, often by margins of eight to ten percent. In September, however, election projections favored Kamala Harris to win the presidency, likely stirring fears that the economy would suffer next year. A recent poll by YouGov for the Economist found that Americans are much more likely to say Harris would hurt the economy than help it.
Home prices are still rising. In September, the median existing-home price for all housing types in September was $404,500, up 3.0 percent from one year ago. Compared with five years ago, when Donald Trump was president, home prices are up 50 percent. The cost of buying and owning a home—including insurance, maintenance, and interest—is up by much more than that.
Many Americans have had to deplete their savings thanks to inflation fueled, at least in part, by the Biden-Harris deficit spending programs that have pushed national debt to record highs.
