Existing home sales fell for ninth straight month in October

Nov. 18 (UPI) -- Existing home sales shrunk for the ninth consecutive month despite the median price of those homes going up, according to a new report from the National Association of Realtors on Friday.

According to the report, existing home sales tumbled 5.9% in October compared to September and are off 28.4% from 2021. The inventory for unsold existing homes, though, fell for the third straight month to 1.22 million.

Total housing inventory in October was 1.22 million units, which was down 0.8% from both September and one year ago. Unsold inventory sits at a 3.3-month supply at the current sales pace, compared to from 3.1 months in September and 2.4 months in October 2021.

That helped to keep the prices of existing home sales robust at a median of $379,100, an increase of 6.6% in October from the previous year.

"Inventory levels are still tight, which is why some homes for sale are still receiving multiple offers," NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement. "In October, 24% of homes received over the asking price. Conversely, homes sitting on the market for more than 120 days saw prices reduced by an average of 15.8%."

Yun said, though, he does not know how long the premium prices will last, especially if mortgage rates continue to increase.

"More potential homebuyers were squeezed out from qualifying for a mortgage in October as mortgage rates climbed higher," Yun said. "The impact is greater in expensive areas of the country and in markets that witnessed significant home price gains in recent years."