US existing home sales November 3.82M vs 3.77M estimate

<ul><li>Prior month 3.79M </li><li>Existing home sales 3.82M vs 3.77M estimate annualized. First gain in 5 months. </li><li>Up 0.8% on the month. Last month the gain was 4.1%</li><li>Year-over-year, sales fell -7.3% (down from 4.12 million in November 2022).</li><li>Inventory 1.130M or 3.5 months (down -1.7%)</li><li>National median home price $387,600, up 4.0% from November 2022. That is the highest ever and the 5th consecutive month of year-over-year price increase.</li></ul><p>Regionally</p><ul><li><p>Northeast Region:</p><ul><li>Existing-home sales decreased by 2.1% from October to November.</li><li>Annual sales rate: 470,000 in November, a 13.0% decrease from November 2022.</li><li>Median price: $428,600, a 4.8% increase from the previous year.</li></ul></li><li><p>Midwest Region:</p><ul><li>Existing-home sales increased by 1.1% from October to November.</li><li>Annual sales rate: 940,000 in November, an 8.7% decrease from one year ago.</li><li>Median price: $280,800, a 4.9% increase from November 2022.</li></ul></li><li><p>South Region:</p><ul><li>Existing-home sales improved by 4.7% from October to November.</li><li>Annual sales rate: 1.77 million in November, a 4.3% decrease from the prior year.</li><li>Median price: $351,500, a 3.4% increase from last year.</li></ul></li><li><p>West Region:</p><ul><li>Existing-home sales decreased by 7.2% from October to November.</li><li>Annual sales rate: 640,000 in November, an 8.6% decrease from one year before.</li><li>Median price: $603,200, a 5.3% increase from November 2022.</li></ul></li></ul><p>Looking at other details:</p><ul><li><p>Market Time:</p><ul><li>Properties typically stayed on the market for 25 days in November.</li><li>This duration is up from 23 days in October and 24 days in November 2022.</li><li>62% of homes sold in November were on the market for less than a month.</li></ul></li><li><p>First-Time Buyers:</p><ul><li>Represented 31% of sales in November.</li><li>This is an increase from 28% in both October 2023 and November 2022.</li><li>The annual share of first-time buyers was 32%, as reported in NAR's 2023 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers.</li></ul></li><li><p>All-Cash Sales:</p><ul><li>Made up 27% of transactions in November.</li><li>This is a decrease from 29% in October but an increase from 26% in November 2022.</li></ul></li><li><p>Investor and Second-Home Buyers:</p><ul><li>Purchased 18% of homes in November.</li><li>This is an increase from 15% in October and 14% from one year ago.</li></ul></li><li><p>Distressed Sales:</p><ul><li>Accounted for 1% of sales in November.</li><li>This percentage is virtually unchanged from the previous month and year.</li></ul></li></ul><p>NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun: </p><blockquote>"The latest weakness in existing home sales still reflects the buyer bidding process in most of October when mortgage rates were at a two-decade high before the actual closings in November. A marked turn can be expected as mortgage rates have plunged in recent weeks."</blockquote><p>According to Freddie Mac, the <a href="https://www.freddiemac.com/pmms" data-extlink="" data-di-="data-di-">30-year fixed-rate mortgage</a> averaged 6.95% as of December 14, falling below 7% for the first time since August 10. That's down from 7.03% the previous week but up from 6.31% from a year ago.</p>

This article was written by Greg Michalowski at www.forexlive.com.