Steel Markets

Existing Home Sales Rise Nationwide

November 20, 2017

Existing home sales increased for the second month in a row and at the strongest pace since early summer. Total sales in October, including single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 2.0 percent from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.48 million.

Lawrence Yun, National Association of Realtors chief economist, says sales activity in October picked up for the second straight month, with increases in all four major regions. “Job growth in most of the country continues to carry on at a robust level and is starting to slowly push up wages, which is in turn giving households added assurance that now is a good time to buy a home,” he said. “While the housing market gained a little more momentum last month, sales are still below year-ago levels because low inventory is limiting choices for prospective buyers and keeping price growth elevated.”

Added Yun, “The residual effects on sales from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma are still seen in parts of Texas and Florida. However, sales should completely bounce back to their pre-storm levels by the end of the year, as demand for buying in these areas was very strong before the storms.”

The median existing home price increased 5.5 percent year-over-year to $247,000. Housing inventory at the end of October decreased 3.2 percent to 1.80 million homes for sale. Inventory is at a 3.9-month supply at the current sales pace, down from 4.4 months a year ago.

Single-family home sales jumped 2.1 percent for a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.87 million. Median price for single-family homes rose 5.4 percent from last year to $248,300.

All four regions saw sales increase in October. The Northeast rose 4.2 percent, Midwest 0.8 percent, South 1.9 percent, and the West 2.4 percent.