Housing market activity for existing homes jumped 9.4% in September compared to August, according to the National Association of Realtors. But compared to September 2019, existing home sales have increased by 21%. Home prices are seeing double-digit increases as well across all US regions, with the national median existing home price at $311,800 last month—an all-time high. This is a 14.8% increase from last year. Total existing home sales in September hit 6.54 million at a seasonally adjusted annual rate despite increasing prices and decreasing inventory.
Regionally, all four regions showed double-digit price growth from a year ago. The Northeast had the largest gain of 17.8% followed by the West with an incline of 17.1%. The Midwest showed an increase of 14.8% and the South had the smallest price gain of 13.0% from September 2019.
September’s inventory figures fell 1.3% from last month standing at 1.47 million homes for sale. Compared with September of 2019, inventory levels dropped 19.2%. This would mark 16 straight months of year-over-year declines. It will take 2.7 months to move the current level of inventory at the current sales pace.
It takes approximately 21 days for a home to go from listing to a contract in the current housing market. A year ago, it took 32 days.
Advertisement
Related Stories
Multifamily
Completions Are Up, but Multifamily Absorption Falls to Decade Low in Q1 2024
The absorption rates for apartments and condos only made up for 42% and 56% of the respective units completed during Q4 2023
Housing Markets
10 Metros Where Luxury Home Prices Have Risen the Least
You can still find a bargain—relative to other markets—on high-end homes in these locales, which have seen less luxury price growth
Insurance
More Than 32M Homes in the US Could Face Hurricane Damage
Up to 25 named storms are predicted to hit the US this hurricane season