US September existing home sales 3.84M vs 3.86M expected

• Prior month 3.86M revised to 3.88M last month.
• Existing Home sales 3.84M annualized pace versus 3.86M estimate.Lowest level since October 2010
• Sales MoM -1.0% vs -2.0% last month (revised from -2.5%)
• Sales YoY -3.5% % vs -4.2% YoY last month. Last year sales pace was at 3.98 million
• Inventory 4.3 months vs 4.2 months last month. A year ago the month supply was 3.4 months
• Inventories are up 1.5% on the month
• Total inventory 1.39 million at the end of September
• Median price $404,500 up 3% year on year. This was the 15th consecutive month of year-over-year price increases

Other details

• First-time buyers accounted for 26% of sales in September, matching the record low from August 2024 and November 2021, down from 27% in September 2023.
• All-cash sales made up 30% of transactions in September, rising from 26% in August and 29% in September 2023.
• Individual investors or second-home buyers purchased 16% of homes in September, down from 19% in August and 18% in September 2023.
• Distressed sales, including foreclosures and short sales, remained steady at 2%, unchanged from last month and September 2023.
• The 30 year mortgage rate average 6.44% as of October 17. That’s up from 6.32% one week ago, but down from 7.63% one year ago

regional data showed declines in Northeast, Midwest, and South but a rebound in the West:

• Northeast: Sales fell 4.2% MoM, down 6.1% YoY to 460,000; median price up 6.0% to $467,100.
• Midwest: Sales slipped 2.2% MoM, down 5.3% YoY to 900,000; median price up 5.0% to $306,600.
• South: Sales decreased 1.7% MoM, down 5.5% YoY to 1.72M; median price up 0.8% to $359,700.
• West: Sales rose 4.1% MoM, up 5.6% YoY to 760,000; median price up 1.7% to $616,400.

“Home sales have been essentially stuck at around a four-million-unit pace for the past 12 months, but factors usually associated with higher home sales are developing,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “There are more inventory choices for consumers, lower mortgage rates than a year ago and continued job additions to the economy. Perhaps, some consumers are hesitating about moving forward with a major expenditure like purchasing a home before the upcoming election.”

This article was written by Greg Michalowski at www.forexlive.com.