The US second-hand housing market is losing momentum in recovery, with existing home sales in November increasing slightly month-on-month but still falling by 1% year-on-year.

Under multiple pressures such as high housing prices, long-term high mortgage rates, and tightening housing supply, potential homebuyers in the United States are facing a more severe purchasing environment, and the momentum of the second-hand housing market recovery remains limited. Data released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) on Friday showed that existing home sales in the United States increased by only 0.5% month-on-month in November, but still decreased by 1% year-on-year, with a seasonally adjusted annual sales rate of 4.13 million units. As existing home sales are based on transactions, the data mainly reflects home purchase contracts signed in September and October of this year, when mortgage rates briefly fell slightly, but then remained high within a relatively narrow range. On the supply side, the number of homes for sale, which had been steadily improving most of the year, declined in November. Data shows that the inventory of homes for sale at the end of November was 1.43 million units, a 5.9% decrease month-on-month, but still a 7.5% increase year-on-year. Based on the current sales rate, the supply corresponds to a supply period of approximately 4.2 months, significantly lower than the 6-month level considered to be equilibrium between supply and demand. Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors, said that the growth of housing supply is starting to stagnate. "Homeowners are not eager to list their homes for sale in the winter." At the same time, there has been a higher proportion of homes being withdrawn from the market after being listed for sale. Although sellers typically temporarily withdraw unsold homes from the market in the winter, this trend has been particularly strong this year. The reduction in housing supply continues to support house prices. The median price of existing homes sold in November was $409,200, a 1.2% year-on-year increase, and a new high for November in recent years. However, due to the median indicator being influenced by the structure of transactions, the current market shows a clear differentiation: sales of low-priced homes continue to be under pressure, while the high-end market remains relatively strong. Sales of homes priced between $100,000 and $250,000 decreased by nearly 8% year-on-year, while sales of homes priced over $1 million increased by 1.4%. Yun pointed out that wage growth is currently faster than the rise in house prices, which helps improve housing affordability. However, he warned that if housing supply cannot keep up with demand growth, future housing affordability may still face new pressures. The average listing time for homes on the market has lengthened to 36 days, up from 32 days in the same period last year. First-time buyers accounted for 30% of transactions, unchanged from last year but still significantly lower than the historical average of about 40%. Meanwhile, investors are returning to the market, accounting for 18% of transactions, up from 13% in the same period last year.