Existing-Home Sales Fall Flat in November
Existing-home sales fell flat in November despite the anticipated decline. Economists predicted sales would slip 0.2% in November, according to Reuters, but they actually dropped eight times more than expected.
Existing-home sales took a 1.7% step back, states the National Association of Realtors (NAR). However, sales are still up 2.7% from a year ago. Housing inventory was also down—7.3% from October and 5.7% from a year ago. "Sales will be choppy when inventory levels are low, but the economy is otherwise performing very well with more than two million job gains in the past year," said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun in the release.
November also marked the 93rd straight month of year-over-year gains for median existing-home prices, up 5.4% from November 2018. Wells Fargo Securities said low supply is what is keeping the prices trending upward. The inventory reading was the lowest November since 1999, according to Wells Fargo.
Homes were on the market for 38 days in November, up from 36 days in October and down from 42 days from November 2018. Yet, 45% of homes were on the market for less than a month. Regionally, sales were up in all regions except the Northeast, which grew by 1.4% in November.
-Michael Miller, managing editor
