With interest rates near historic lows and the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit set to expire, October existing home sales saw another significant increase. NAR's monthly data show sales were up 10.1% to a seasonally adjusted rate of 6.1 million sales. Residential inventory dropped to a 7-months supply, a level not seen since February 2007.
More findings
- Distressed properties made up 30% of all October sales.
- 13% of successful first-time homebuyers had a previous deal fall through.
NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun says, "Many buyers have been rushing to beat the deadline for the first-time buyer tax credit that was scheduled to expire at the end of this month, and similarly robust sales may be occurring in November. With such a sale spike, a measurable decline should be anticipated in December and early next year before another surge in spring and early summer."
Learn more about NAR's October report. Read an AP-MSNBC report for further analysis.
Here's a summary of the October data:
October national sales
- Existing Home Sales: Up 10.1% from September at an annualized rate of 6.10 mil units, and 23.5% higher than Oct 2008
- Inventory: Down 3.7 % to 3.57 million units, a 7.0 month supply, 14.9% lower inventory than Oct 2008
- Median Price: $173,100 (down 7.1% from Oct 2008, all residential types)
Regional sales+14.4% from last month and +28.8% from last year. Median price = $146,600 (down 1.1% from Oct 2008)
- Midwest:
- South: +12.7% from last month and +25.7% from last year. Median price = $151,100 (down 6.3% from Oct 2008)
- Northeast: +11.6% from last month and +27.7% from last year. Median price = $235,400 down 2.6% from Oct 2008
- West: +1.6% from last month and +12.0% from last year. Median Price = $220,200 (down 14.7% from Oct 2008)
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