Existing-home sales rose by 4.3% in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.85 million, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Sales rose year-over-year, up 26.6% from October 2019 (5.41 million). First-time buyers were responsible for 32% of sales in October, up from the 31% in both September 2020 and October 2019.
Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, states that despite record unemployment numbers the housing industry has seen an impressive rebound. Yun expects the housing market will continue to grow into 2021. “With news that a COVID-19 vaccine will soon be available, and with mortgage rates projected to hover around 3% in 2021, I expect the market’s growth to continue into 2021.”
The total housing inventory was 1.42 million units, down 2.7% from September and down 19.8% from one year ago (1.77 million). The median home price was $313,000, up 15.5% from October 2019. This increase marks 104 straight months of year-over-year gains.
Distressed sales were less than 1% of total sales, the same as September, but down from 2% in October 2019.
Read the NAR release.
