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NAR released a summary of existing-home sales data showing that housing market activity this October faded 5.9% from September 2022. October’s existing home sales reached a 4.43 million seasonally adjusted annual rate. October’s sales of existing homes declined 28.4% from October 2021.
The national median existing-home price for all housing types reached $379,100 in October, up 6.6% from a year ago. Home prices have continued to climb, marking the 128th consecutive month of year-over-year gains.
Regionally, in October, all four regions showed steady price growth from a year ago. The Northeast and the South shared the largest gain of 8.0%, followed by the Midwest, with an increase of 5.9%. The West had the smallest price gain of 5.3% from October 2021.
October’s inventory of unsold listings as of the end of the month fell 0.8% from last month, standing at 1,220,000 homes for sale. Compared with October 2021, inventory levels were down 0.8%. It will take 3.3 months to move the current inventory level at the current sales pace, well below the desired pace of 6 months.
Demand remains strong as home buyers are snatching listings quickly off the MLS, and it takes approximately 21 days for a home to go from listing to a contract in the current housing market. A year ago, it took 18 days.
From a year ago, all four regions had double-digit declines in sales in October. The West had the most significant dip at 37.5%, followed by the South, which fell 27.2%. The Midwest decreased by 25.5%, followed by the Northeast, down 23.0%.
Compared to September 2022, all four regions showed sales reductions. The West region had the most significant decline of 9.1%, followed by the Northeast with a decrease of 6.6%. The Midwest region had the smallest fall, 5.3%, followed by the South, with a dip in sales of 4.8%.
The South led all regions in percentage of national sales, accounting for 44.7% of the total, while the Northeast had the smallest share at 12.9%.
In October, single-family sales decreased by 6.4%, and condominium sales fell by 2.0% compared to last month. Single-family home sales were down 28.2%, while condominium sales fell to 30.4% compared to a year ago. The median sales price of single-family homes rose to 6.2% at $384,900 from October 2021, while the median sales price of condominiums rose 10.1% at $331,000.
