Existing home sales in the U.S. saw a modest increase in the month of November, the National Association of Realtors revealed in a report released on Friday.
NAR said existing home sales rose by 0.5 percent to an annual rate of 4.13 million in November after jumping by 1.5 percent to an upwardly revised rate of 4.10 million in October.
Economists had expected existing home sales to shoot up by 1.2 percent to an annual rate of 4.15 million from the 4.10 million originally reported for the previous month.
While existing home sales climbed by less than expected, they still reached their highest level since hitting an annual rate of 4.27 million in February.
The modest monthly increase came as existing home sales in the Northeast surged by 4.1 percent to an annual rate of 510,000, and existing home sales in the South jumped by 1.1 percent to an annual rate of 1.89 million.
Meanwhile, existing home sales in the West were unchanged at an annual rate of 760,000, and existing home sales in the Midwest slumped by 2.0 percent to an annual rate of 970,000.
“Existing-home sales increased for the third straight month due to lower mortgage rates this autumn,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.
“However, inventory growth is beginning to stall,” he added. “With distressed property sales at historic lows and housing wealth at an all-time high, homeowners are in no rush to list their properties during the winter months.”
NAR said housing inventory at the end of November totaled 1.43 million units, down 5.9 percent from 1.52 million units in October but up 7.5 percent from 1.33 million units a year ago.
The unsold inventory represents 4.2 months of supply, down from 4.4 months in October but up from 3.8 months in November 2024.
The report also said the median existing home price was $409,200 in November, down 1.4 percent from $414,900 in October but up 1.2 percent from $404,400 a year ago.
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