In September, existing home sales in the United States rose by 1.5% compared to the previous month, with inventory reaching a nearly five-year high.

The latest "Existing Home Sales Report" released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) shows that in September, existing home sales in the United States increased by 1.5% compared to the previous month, equivalent to an annualized sales rate of 4.06 million units. The report provides core data on prices, transactions, and inventory for real estate agencies, buyers, and sellers. NAR's chief economist Lawrence Yun said, "As expected, as mortgage rates fall, housing demand has warmed, and affordability has improved, which has also driven up transactions." In terms of regions, sales in the Northeast, South, and West regions all increased month-on-month in September, while the Midwest saw a decrease. In terms of year-on-year comparisons, the Northeast, Midwest, and South saw growth, while the West remained flat. Yun pointed out that inventory in the United States has returned to near five-year highs, but remains lower than pre-pandemic levels. Considering that most homeowners have stable assets and cash flows, forced selling in the market and problematic properties are very few, and prices continue to rise moderately in most areas, increasing overall family wealth. In terms of inventory, there were approximately 1.55 million homes for sale in the United States in September, an increase of 1.3% compared to August and a large increase of 14% year-on-year. Based on the current sales rate, the market inventory is 4.6 months, unchanged from August, higher than the 4.2 months in the same period last year. The median price for existing homes sold in the United States in September was $415,200, an increase of 2.1% year-on-year, marking the 27th consecutive month of year-on-year growth. By property type, the annualized sales of single-family homes in September was 3.69 million units, an increase of 1.7% month-on-month and 4.5% year-on-year, with a median price of $420,700, up 2.3% year-on-year. Condo and cooperative apartment transactions remained at an annualized 370,000 units, unchanged month-on-month and year-on-year, with a median price of $360,300, a slight decrease of 0.6% year-on-year. In terms of regions, the annualized sales in the Northeast were 490,000 units, an increase of 2.1% month-on-month and 4.3% year-on-year, with a median price of $500,300, an increase of 4.1% year-on-year. In the Midwest, the annualized sales were 940,000 units, a decrease of 2.1% month-on-month but an increase of 2.2% year-on-year, with a median price of $320,800, up 4.7% year-on-year. In the South, the annualized sales were 1.86 million units, an increase of 1.6% month-on-month and 6.9% year-on-year, with a median price of $364,500, up 1.2% year-on-year. In the West, the annualized sales were 770,000 units, a significant increase of 5.5% month-on-month, with a flat year-on-year performance and a median price of $619,100, a slight increase of 0.4% year-on-year. In terms of transaction characteristics, the median time from listing to closing was 33 days, higher than the 31 days in the previous month and 28 days in the same period last year. The proportion of first-time buyers has risen to 30%, higher than 28% in July and 26% in the same period last year. Cash transactions accounted for 30%, an increase from 28% in the previous month but remained the same as last year. Investors and second-home buyers accounted for 15%, lower than 21% in the previous month and 16% in the same period last year. Distressed properties (foreclosures and short sales) accounted for 2%, unchanged from August and the same period last year. In terms of financing conditions, data from the Mortgage Bankers Association shows that the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate in September was 6.35%, lower than 6.59% in August but still higher than 6.18% in the same period last year. Yun said that as interest rates continue to decline and income conditions improve, they provide conditions for transaction momentum in the fourth quarter.