Existing Home Sales Rise In October As Buyers Take Advantage Of Lower Mortgage Rates

• Existing home sales grew in October compared to September in the Midwest and South, while remaining unchanged in the Northeast and declining in the West.
• The NAR report showed that sales in the high-end of the U.S. housing market registered strong year-over-year growth.
• Data from Redfin showed that home prices surged in the four weeks ending November 16, registering the biggest gain in seven months despite slow demand.

U.S. existing home sales rose in October despite the government shutdown as homebuyers capitalized on lower mortgage rates.

According to data from the National Association of Realtors, sales of previously owned homes rose 1.2% in October over September, rising to 4.1 million units on a seasonally adjusted, annualized basis, in line with a Wall Street consensus estimate cited by MarketWatch.

“Home sales increased in October even with the government shutdown due to homebuyers taking advantage of lower mortgage rates.”

— Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist, NAR

According to the NAR report, existing home sales grew compared to September in the Midwest and South, while remaining unchanged in the Northeast and declining in the West.

Data from Freddie Mac showed that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) was at 6.24% in the week ending November 12, down 54 basis points over the past year. The 52-week average 30-year FRM rate stood at 6.67%, according to the firm.

Home Prices Surge

Data from Redfin showed that home prices surged in the four weeks ending November 16, registering the biggest gain in seven months despite slow demand.

The firm stated in its latest report that the median home sale price rose 2.3% during this period, driven by a decline in total inventory.

“Still, it’s important to note that home prices are growing slower than wages and inflation, meaning homebuying is becoming slightly more affordable,” the firm added.

High-End Growth Remains Strong

The NAR report showed that sales in the high-end of the U.S. housing market registered strong year-over-year growth. As homebuyers climbed the price ladder, the sales growth rose, too.

Sales of homes costing up to $100,000 declined 2.8% YoY in September. Growth kicked in at the $100,000 to $250,000 price range, growing at 0.9%. Sales of homes costing more than $1 million grew the fastest, at 16.4%.

Meanwhile, U.S. equities were down in Thursday’s midday trade. At the time of writing, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500 index, was down by 0.75%, the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ) declined 1.24%, while the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) fell 0.57%. Retail sentiment around the S&P 500 ETF on Stocktwits was in the ‘neutral’ territory.

The iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF (IEF) was up 0.23% at the time of writing.

Also See: Dow Soars 600 Points, S&P 500 Surges 1.6% Following Nvidia’s Q3 Earnings Beat

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