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Existing-home sales courtesy of the National Association of Realtors via the St. Louis Fed

The National Association of Realtors^® NAR^® reports Existing-Home Sales Decreased 4.1% in October.

Key Details

• Total existing-home sales, completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, fell 4.1% from September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.79 million in October.
• Year-over-year, sales tumbled 14.6% (down from 4.44 million in October 2022).
• The median existing-home price for all housing types in October was $391,800, an increase of 3.4% from October 2022 ($378,800). All four U.S. regions registered price increases.
• All-cash sales accounted for 29% of transactions in October, unchanged from September but up from 26% in October 2022.
• Individual investors or second-home buyers, who make up many cash sales, purchased 15% of homes in October, down from 18% in September and 16% one year ago.
• Properties typically remained on the market for 23 days in October, up from 21 days in September 2023 and October 2022. Sixty-six percent of homes sold in October were on the market for less than a month.

Existing-Home Sales Percent Change From Month Ago

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Existing home sales are down 19 of the last 22 months.

Existing Home Sales Since 1969

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Chart courtesy of Trading Economics, annotations by Mish.

Existing home sales have crashed to Great Recession levels. They are now back to sales numbers seen in the late 1970s.

Existing-Home Sales Percent Change From Year Ago

I created a new chart this month to show how misleading year-over-year numbers can be.

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In January of 2023, year-over-year sales were down 36.91 percent year-over-year. Now they are down “only” 14.64 percent.

It’s the lead chart with actual numbers that shows what’s really going on.

How the Fed Destroyed the Housing Market and Created Inflation in Pictures

For discussion of this dual-track housing bubble with rising prices despite a transaction crash, please see How the Fed Destroyed the Housing Market and Created Inflation in Pictures

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